No better to be safe than sorry (2025)

Hi to everyone,

What does "no better to be safe than sorry" mean?

This sentence is from the song by A-HA called "Take on me":

So needless to say
I'm odds and ends
But that's me stumbling away
Slowly learning that life is OK.
Say after me
It's no better to be safe than sorry

Thank you all so much for your attention and time!!!

With kind regards,
AINUR

crd99 said:

Ít means that safe and sorry are the same. The saying says the opposite "better safe than sorry" meaning security is better than regret. In this case one is no more/better than the other.
I hope it helps

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muchas gracias!!!

Ainur

The point of the expression better to be safe than sorry is that one shouldn't take risks.

This person is suggesting that one should take risks if one is to enjoy life. It's quite a common point of view, to judge from the way many people drive motor cars. I doubt if the song-writer was thinking about motor-cars.

Hi Ainur, and welcome to the forums!

Are you asking whether "It is better to be safe than sorry" is an idiom? I'd say yes, it is.

cycloneviv said:

Hi Ainur, and welcome to the forums!

Are you asking whether "It is better to be safe than sorry" is an idiom? I'd say yes, it is.

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Does it mean "it is better to be secure than to regret later"?
And "no better to be safe than sorry" means "take risks if you want to enjoy the life". Is that right?

Ainur said:

Does it mean "it is better to be secure than to regret later"? - i.e. don't take risks
And "no better to be safe than sorry" means "take risks if you want to enjoy the life". Is that right? That's what I was trying to get across.

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I've put my reactions into your post, Ainur.

Thomas Tompion said:

I've put my reactions into your post, Ainur.

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Mr. Tompion,

THANK YOU very very very much.

Please, do not treat me as block-head!

Actually, my last question was appealed to that girl from Australia.

But anyway, thanks a lot for paying attention.

Hi Ainur,

I have to say, I can't see anything in Thomas Tompion's post which implied you were a blockhead!

I agree entirely with his comments on "It is better to be safe than sorry".

"It is no better to be safe than sorry" is not a common English idiom, but can be understood as a play on the common idiom. Perhaps turning it around a little will help make the meaning clear: Being safe is no better than being sorry.

Ainur said:

Mr. Tompion,

THANK YOU very very very much.

Please, do not treat me as block-head!

Actually, my last question was appealed to that girl from Australia.

But anyway, thanks a lot for paying attention.

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Hi, Ainur. I always put a note to the effect that I've put comments into the post rather than underneath. It seems less abrupt than just leaving them there without explanation. Forgive me, please, if I offended you.

cycloneviv said:

Hi Ainur,

I have to say, I can't see anything in Thomas Tompion's post which implied you were a blockhead!

I agree entirely with his comments on "It is better to be safe than sorry".

"It is no better to be safe than sorry" is not a common English idiom, but can be understood as a play on the common idiom. Perhaps turning it around a little will help make the meaning clear: Being safe is no better than being sorry.

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It's OK.

Thomas Tompion said:

Hi, Ainur. I always put a note to the effect that I've put comments into the post rather than underneath. It seems less abrupt than just leaving them there without explanation. Forgive me, please, if I offended you.

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I am not offended at all!

Thank you for your cooperation