Better safe than sorry means that it is better to be careful now than to regret it later. People say it when they take precautions in advance, even if the risk is small: they make a copy of their passport or leave for the airport early. The expression is conversational: it fits IELTS Speaking, but it isn't used in essays.
When would you say better safe than sorry?
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Better safe than sorry. (short comment); it's better to be safe than sorry
- I always make a copy of my passport before a trip. Better safe than sorry.
- We booked the airport taxi for five instead of six. It's better to be safe than sorry.
- My sister always checks the cooker twice before leaving the flat. Better safe than sorry, she says.
What changed
First versionI'll take a warm jacket too. It's better be safe than sorry.
RevisionI'll take a warm jacket too. It's better to be safe than sorry.
The short form better safe than sorry has no verb. In the full form, it's better needs to be. The pattern you'd better be (meaning “you should be”) makes better be sound familiar, and the two forms get mixed. To was added; nothing else was changed.
Inside a sentence, the same idea is expressed with just in case or to be on the safe side: I left an hour early, just to be on the safe side. Better safe than sorry usually stands as a separate comment: first you say what you did, then you use this phrase to explain why.
Your turn
The mountain trail looked easy, but we still packed a first-aid kit and extra water: ___.
Show the answer
better safe than sorry — The trail looked easy, and the first-aid kit and water were packed just in case. That is a precaution, so better safe than sorry fits. No pain, no gain is about hard work for a result, but nobody is suffering here; they are simply being careful.
Describe a time you took precautions in advance: before a trip, an exam or an important meeting. Say exactly what you did and finish with better safe than sorry.
Before my job interview, I printed two extra copies of my CV and checked the route the night before. Better safe than sorry.
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