play it safe
Verb
Meaning
play it safe (third-person singular simple present plays it safe, present participle playing it safe, simple past and past participle played it safe)
To take a cautious, risk-free approach.
Deciding to play it safe, he joined his father's accounting firm rather than pursue an acting career.
Antonyms: play big, go all in
Synonyms
Antonyms
Examples
After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.
Very few things are as dangerous as a bunch of incentive-driven individuals trying to play it safe.
Idiots are not responsible for what they do. The real guilt falls on rational people who sit on their hands while the morons run wild. You can opt out if you want to. Play it safe. But if you do, don't complain when the roof comes down.
My philosophy is that it's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe and not to explore at all.
We should willingly take risks in supporting new projects. The tendency is to play it safe when funding is low, but we need to remember that the greatest risks have the greatest payoffs.
I want to show up to work and take risks. I don't ever want to play it safe.