belt and braces
Two safeguards together
Belt and braces describes a cautious approach that uses two safeguards where one might suffice—like wearing both a belt and suspenders to hold up trousers.
The phrase is British; Americans say belt and suspenders.
It can be approving a belt-and-braces security system or gently mocking excessive caution: That's a bit belt and braces, isn't it?
- precautionPreventive safety measure
- redundancyNeedless duplication
- prudenceCareful, wise judgment
- fail-safeAutomatic harm prevention mechanism
- cover all basesAddress every possibility
backup · vigilance · insurance · fallback · plan B · safety · hedge your bets · overcomplication · protection · alarm system · double lock · carefulness · contingency planning · leave nothing to chance · security · double-checking · mitigation · playing it safe
belt and bracesreckless
Carelessly ignoring danger
single point of failure · careless · negligent · throwing caution to the wind · cavalier
belt and braceswing it
Act without preparation
impromptu · ad hoc · slapdash · half-baked · unprepared
belt and bracesimprovisation
Spontaneous, unplanned creation
spontaneity · laissez-faire · ad hoc · haphazard · slapdash
belt, belts, belted, belting, brace, braces, braced, bracing