in the first place

in the first place
in the first place & in the first instance
initially; to begin with. •

In the first place, you don't have enough money to buy one. In the second place, you don't need one.

In the first instance, I don't have the time. In the second place, I'm not interested.

* * *
{adv. phr.} 1. Before now; in the beginning; first. * /You already ate breakfast! Why didn't you tell me that in the first place instead of saying you didn't want to eat?/ * /Carl patched his old football but it soon leaked again. He should have bought a new one in the first place./ 2. See: IN THE PLACE.

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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