"Better Late Than Never" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 17/07/2020

0:00 - How to Say, “Better late than never.”
0:18 - Examples of “Better late than never.”
1:06 - Meaning of “Better late than never.”
1:54 - Origin of “Better late than never.”
4:19 - More Examples of “Better late than never.”
5:07 - Conclusion

“Better late than never.”

You’ve probably heard someone say, “better late than never,” when it comes to starting something that should’ve been started much earlier.

“I’m going to finish painting the house this weekend. Better late than never,” your dad might say after finally deciding to finish what he started a year ago.

You and a friend might decide to join a gym, “I know we’re not that young anymore, but better late than never.”

Your mom might be so happy that you are finally pregnant, “I’m so happy that you’ve decided to start a family even though you’re almost 40. Better late than never!”

As you can tell, “better late than never,” is an idiom used whenever someone wants to say that even though you should’ve started earlier, it is still good that you did start.

This idiom is only used for good things, things that are desirable - but it can be used for minor things, such as cleaning up your room…

… or it can be used for major things, such as finally travelling the world after you retire.

“Better late than never,” is an idiom tied to the human tendency to procrastinate, to put things off until the absolute last minute.

In fact, people have been known to put things off indefinitely; to never do something that they want to do.

This habit is demonstrated clearly using “The Eisenhower Matrix”, which is a chart that compares things that are “important” and things that are “urgent”.

Important things are very useful things; such as learning a new language, learning a skill, or saving for retirement.

Urgent things are things that cannot wait; such as filing your taxes on time, fixing a leaky roof, or applying for university on time.

Some important things are urgent, but many important things are not urgent at all.

The human tendency is to take care of urgent things first, no matter if they’re important or not…

… the problem comes when there are so many urgent things that are not important, that you end up never doing the important things.

This is why when you finally get around to doing something that is important (and usually not urgent), people will say, “Better late than never!”

Indeed, “better late than never,” is often used for non-important issues, but is best utilized for important issues.

“I’m so glad that I finally started learning Japanese last year,” you might tell your partner during a trip to Japan, to which she replies, “Better late than never!”

Maybe you started to learn about software engineering, programming and coding. Your brother says, “Glad you started. Better late than never!”

Your grandma might ask you to show her how a smartphone works, “It’s great that you’re finally learning, grandma! Better late than never.”

So, whenever someone finally starts on something that they’ve been putting off, make sure to give them encouragement with, “better late than never!”

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