play it safe
Choose cautious path
To play it safe is to choose the cautious option, avoiding risk even when bolder action might pay off: I could invest in crypto, but I'm going to play it safe and stick with index funds.
The phrase often carries a slight implication of timidity or missed opportunity.
- prudenceCareful, wise judgment
- cautionCareful attention to risk
- guardedWary and restrained
- carefulnessQuality of being thorough
- risk aversionPreference for certainty
conservative · hedge your bets · backup · cover your bases · self-preservation · keep your head down · contingency · wary · circumspection · predictability · comfort zone · overthinking · discreet · tread carefully · measured · hold back · restraint · timid
- strategystrategy, grand strategy, tactics, tactic, tactical
- cautioncareful, be careful, cautious, caution, watch out
- decisionschoice, make a decision, choices, yes, no
- gambling lingoall in, ante up, raise the stakes, go all in, high roller
- social conformityconformist, peer pressure, herd mentality, groupthink, follow the crowd
- Rule-followingstickler, toe the line, letter of the law, code, protocol
play it safeplay with fire
Act recklessly with peril
take a risk · throw caution to the wind · risk it all · take a gamble · live dangerously
play it safethrow caution to the wind
Act recklessly, disregarding consequences
push the envelope · break the rules · color outside the lines · go against the grain · rock the boat
play it safetake the plunge
Commit after hesitation
go out on a limb · stick one's neck out · be bold · take a chance · swing for the fences
play, safe, player, safety, playful, unsafe, safeguard, playing, played