Hi, what does this phrase mean: I covered my bases? Does it mean I have done what I was expected to? And are there any (more colloquial) variations to this phrase such as I covered my a**?
Thank you in advance,
Andreana
Hi Andreana,
To my mind this expression suggests you have taken steps or measures to make sure your actions will not be questioned and that what you have done will be justified. I would suggest cover your back means roughly the same. There is a suggestion that your actions are watertight/foolproof. You could also read into this expression another one hinting at the idea no-one will find out how you’ve achieved what you have: cover your tracks.
That’s the best I can come up with at the moment.
Alan
Hello Alan, that was very fast. Thank you, now I know to cover my bases.
Andreana
Cover my bases is a baseball expression. In baseball, you have three bases and home plate. The team that is in the field has to have a man at each base to catch the ball and make sure players on the opposing team can’t get to that base safely and stay there. These players are covering the bases.
Cover my bases is different from cover my a**. Cover my bases means you have something well organized and you are ready if anything goes wrong. Cover my a** means that you take some measure to make sure you don’t get in trouble. You can definitely cover your a** without covering your bases.
[i]“We’ve got our bases covered. If one supplier is going to deliver late, we’ve got another one ready to take part of the work.”
“I didn’t want to go to work yesterday, but if the boss gets angry because my work isn’t done, I’ve got my a** covered. I’ll use this phony doctor’s note.”[/i]
The first person covered his bases. The second person covered his a**, but he didn’t cover his bases, because he didn’t finish his work.
Hey Jamie,
what does this phony doctor mean?
You call them on phone?
Or he is qrooked in some way,and helps you even if you’re not sick?
Spencer
“Phony” means false or counterfeit. In my post, the person was saying that he had a doctor’s note, and that it was phony. This means he made a false note that said he was sick. The note was probably not really from a doctor, and the man was not really sick.
So, it wasn’t a note from a false doctor. It was a false note, and he lied and said it was from a doctor.
Got it,thanks