Today you’ll learn the phrase cover your bases. I heard this expression on a TV show in which the police were investigating a crime, and one of the suspects -that’s one of the people who may have committed the crime -was a celebrity. The police officer leading the investigation told his team to gather lots of evidence, saying, “We need to cover our bases before making an arrest.”
To cover your bases means to take extra precautions and deal with all potential problems early. In this situation, the policeman wanted lots of evidence so that he could be sure the case against the celebrity was strong and solid -because if they arrested the celebrity with weak evidence and the celebrity turned out to be innocent, it would be a big problem, with damage to the celebrity’s reputation and an embarrassing mistake for the police.
So he said “We need to cover our bases” -we need to take extra precautions in this situation, in order to prevent potentially major problems in the future.
Another example would be, let’s say you’re a generally healthy person, but you still join a health insurance plan to cover your bases -as an extra precaution in case you get unexpectedly sick or injured.
To cover your bases means to take extra precautions and deal with all potential problems early. In this situation, the policeman wanted lots of evidence so that he could be sure the case against the celebrity was strong and solid -because if they arrested the celebrity with weak evidence and the celebrity turned out to be innocent, it would be a big problem, with damage to the celebrity’s reputation and an embarrassing mistake for the police.
So he said “We need to cover our bases” -we need to take extra precautions in this situation, in order to prevent potentially major problems in the future.
Another example would be, let’s say you’re a generally healthy person, but you still join a health insurance plan to cover your bases -as an extra precaution in case you get unexpectedly sick or injured.