IN THE FIRST PLACE Definition & Meaning

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in the first place

As the first of several items in order of importance. This phrase is usually accompanied by in the second place, third place , and so on, as in I'm not joining the health club because, in the first place, I don't like their hours, and in the second place, I can't afford the dues . [First half of 1600s] Also see for one .
From the beginning, at the outset, before anything else. For example, Why didn't you tell me in the first place that you've decided to leave? or He could have bought a new one in the first place .

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Were it otherwise, there’d be no point to having the writ in the first place — let alone to enshrining it in the Constitution.

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But it raised further questions as to why the material and messaging existed in the first place, so BBC Wales asked them for more information.

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Older voters watching Musk and Trump’s Cabinet dismantle the federal government understand why those agencies were built in the first place.

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“If we want to build inclusive organizations, we have to interrogate not just what’s being asked but why it’s still being asked in the first place.”

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This money pays people’s salaries and ensures that exhibitions like “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” can be put on in the first place.

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