Trust · People and relationships
a safe pair of hands
reliable person
Someone who can be trusted to deal with a situation well.
This vs that
She's a safe pair of hands.
She's trustworthy.
Hear it in real life
Who's looking after the children while you're away?
My cousin. She's a safe pair of hands.
Put James in charge of the event—he's a safe pair of hands.
Which sounds natural?
Psst — which one would you actually say?
This British idiom neatly expresses practical reliability in a real situation.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: We need someone who is a safety pair of hands.
Say: We need someone who is a safe pair of hands.
The fixed phrase uses safe pair, not safety pair.
Say it together
Whole chunks natives use with it.
be a safe pair of hands
You can leave the project with Priya—she's a safe pair of hands.
We need a safe pair of hands to look after the children this weekend.
Phrases to borrow
More for talking about trust.
take someone at their word
I took her at her word and booked the tickets.
have faith in ___
My parents always had faith in me.
Trust words
People and relationships · Trust: the words around “a safe pair of hands”.
More connectionsMore trust words7
Your turn: say it out loud
She's a safe pair of hands.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
a safe pair of hands
reliable person
“Put James in charge of the event—he's a safe pair of hands.”
heytardy