Meaning & use
put first things first
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Meaning
phraseidiom
To deal with the most important tasks or matters before anything less important.
Grammar: Used as an imperative or as a general principle; it does not take an object.
Patterns
- put first things first
If you want to finish the project on time, you need to put first things first and stop checking social media.
My grandmother always said, 'Put first things first,' meaning family should come before work.
The manager told us to put first things first: safety before speed.
Common combinations
- put first things first
- Before you buy a new car, put first things first and pay off your debts.
- learn to put first things first
- As a student, you must learn to put first things first and study before going out.
- advice to put first things first
- His advice to put first things first helped me organize my week.
Synonyms and how they differ
- prioritize
- A single verb that means to treat something as more important; it is more formal and can take an object, unlike the idiom.
- get your priorities straight
- An informal phrase meaning to decide what is most important; it often implies that someone has been focusing on the wrong things.
Opposites
Practice
Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom means to do the most important thing first, so paying rent before entertainment fits. Option 2 reverses the priorities, option 3 adds 'the' and 'the', and option 4 uses singular 'thing' instead of the fixed plural 'things'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “put first things first”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.