"err on the side of caution"

Question

0I don't get this. To err means to make a mistake. So how come we say 'err on the side of caution' means to be especially careful rather than taking a risk or making a mistake?02br02br00Thanks02br02br00PBF0-

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

0You are still taking a risk and you still recognize that there may be a mistake, but the type of mistake will be the less risky kind.02br
02br
00Let's say there's a chance to make a lot of money, but there's some risk, of course, that it may not make any money at all, and anything you invest will be lost.I invest $10,000 - my life savings. But the thing works out, and I make a million dollars. Good for me!02br
02br
00But before we knew whether it was going to work out, you had to make a decision about how much you wanted to invest. You didn't feel like you wanted to risk $10,000. You were willing to invest only $1,000, because if it went wrong, you couldn't afford to lose $10k. In the end, you realize you could have made a million too, instead of only $100,000. But you erred on the side of caution. If it had gone wrong, I would have lost my entire savings, but you would have lost only $1,000.0-

"err on the side of caution"

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions