in the first instance
First, before any subsequent actions. In the first instance, tell your boss you're sick and then call and make an appointment with your doctor. I'm so overwhelmed that I don't even know what to do in the first instance. I know you've got a lot on your mind, but can I take my coat off in the first instance?
in the first place
1. From the outset; in or at the very beginning. You should have said you were feeling ill in the first place! I wouldn't have given you such a hard time if I'd known. I never would have bought this car in the first place if I'd known there weren't airbags. Honestly? I never knew why those two got married in the first place.
2. As the first of a given set of points (e.g., in an argument). Why am I quitting? Well, in the first place, I haven't been paid for overtime in nearly a year, and I just don't feel valued as an employee in general. There are a lot of problems with your paper. In the first place, where is your thesis? I'm sick of living in this city—in the first place, the traffic makes commuting to work an absolute nightmare!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
in the first place and 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.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.