Just in case
This is an easy one: today’s expression is “just in case.” This is a little expression that we add at the end of a sentence to communicate that we’re doing something as a precaution. This is one of those expressions that doesn’t carry much meaning in itself; it enhances the meaning of the sentence it’s in.
When I took the SAT’s , I had to bring my own number-2 pencil. That’s the yellow wooden pencil with the lead in the middle and the pink eraser on the top. A number-2 pencil is a simple little tool, but a lot can go wrong in a high-stakes environment. The wood at the tip can get splintered. You might break it accidentally. You might use up the eraser. You might write so much that you use up the entire pencil. Maybe misfortune will befall someone else in the room and you’d like to be a Good Samaritan and lend that person an extra pencil. That’s why, in a high-stakes environment like the SAT, it’s a good idea to bring a couple of pencils just in case.
It’s a good idea to bring a couple of pencils as a precaution. You probably won’t need those extra pencils. But there’s a small probability that something will go wrong with your primary pencil, and you have a lot riding on your ability to fill in those bubbles. So we state the precaution, and then we add the words, “just in case” to communicate that we’re doing it as a precaution.
As I record this, I’m in Mexico City. The weather is amazing. It’s warm and sunny during the day and cool at night. I often don’t need a sweatshirt or a jacket at night. But if I go out for a few hours, I usually bring a sweatshirt just in case. Most of the time, I don’t even put the sweatshirt on. But I bring it as a precaution because the nights can get cool here. I bring a sweatshirt just in case.
Do you have one of those portable phone chargers? New phones have long-lasting batteries and you probably don’t need a portable charger. But if you use a lot of data, or if you’re out for a long time, you might bring a portable charger just in case. That’s just in case you run out of batteries before you get home.
Can you proofread a document on a screen? I usually can. But if I’m sending a really important document, I usually proofread a printed version just in case. Sometimes you need a printed version to catch mistakes like borders, text size, or colors. That’s why I usually print really important documents at work before I send them off. I print them just in case. I probably don’t need to proofread a printed version, but I do it as a precaution.
Sometimes, you don’t even need to state the reason you’re doing something. If you say “just in case,” the other person will know that you’re doing something for protection. I’m in a different country. Whenever I travel to a different country, I always make sure to leave at least one credit card and some cash in my room. I do that just in case. See what I mean?
Someone might ask me, “Why are you leaving cash in your suitcase in the apartment?” And I can answer, “Well, I’m doing it just in case.” Do I need to explain why? Probably not.
Quote of the Week
This is a famous, famous quote in English. Here it is: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” The person who said it was not a management guru, but a historian, C. Northcote Parkinson in 1955. It’s famous in business circles. If you assign three people a job and allow them a week to do it, they’ll take a week to do it. Even if they could do it in three days, they’ll usually take all the available time to do it. “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” I see that all the time in my work. Have you ever wondered why so much work gets done right at the very end of the allotted time? Yeah.
See you next time!
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We’ll be back on Thursday to discuss the “right to repair” things like tractors and cell phones. See you then.
Use realistic expressions like a native speaker
