errs on the side of caution
Chooses extra caution
To err on the side of caution is to choose the safer or more conservative option when facing uncertainty: When hiking in bear country, we err on the side of caution and carry spray.
The phrase acknowledges that the cautious choice might be unnecessary but treats potential harm as worth avoiding.
You can err on the side of other qualities too—generosity, inclusion, brevity—but caution is by far the most common.
- better safe than sorryPrudence over risk
- hesitancyUnwillingness to proceed
- playing it safeAvoiding unnecessary risk
- prudenceCareful, wise judgment
- responsibilityState of being answerable
risk averse · mitigation · circumspection · deliberation · safety first · belt-and-suspenders · buffer · cover your bases · foresight · redundancy · wariness · conservatism · avoidance · worst case scenario · preparedness · accountability · hedging · carefulness
errs on the side of cautionreckless
Carelessly ignoring danger
plays with fire · lives dangerously · rolls the dice · gambles · pushes the envelope
errs on the side of cautionshoots from the hip
Acts on impulse
rushes in · jumps the gun · dives in · impetuous · hasty
erroneous, erroneously, errancy, aberrant, aberration, siding, sideways, sidelong, beside