'in the first place' definitions:
Definition of 'in the first place'
(from WordNet)
adverb
Before now; "why didn't you tell me in the first place?" [syn: in the first place, earlier, in the beginning, to begin with, originally]
adverb
Of primary import; "this is primarily a question of economics"; "it was in the first place a local matter" [syn: primarily, in the first place] [ant: secondarily]