safety net

English

Noun

safety net (plural safety nets)

1. A large net placed horizontally beneath performing aerialists such as trapeze artists or tightrope walkers, intended to catch a performer who falls and to protect him or her from harm.
2. (figuratively, by extension) Anything, such as a governmental program, that provides security against extreme disadvantage or misfortune.
   • 2021 May 15, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 0-1 Leicester”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed he was in "angry mode" after the surprise home loss to Arsenal suddenly put pressure on their top-four hopes in the Premier League - although the Champions League final against Manchester City could yet prove the most glittering safety net.

   • 2022 January 12, “Network News: Unions urge government to provide financial support for Eurostar”, in RAIL, number 948, page 6:

     The TSSA said that access to the furlough scheme should be reinstated for the cross-Channel operator to protect jobs, while the RMT said a financial 'safety net' was needed to prevent Eurostar "tipping over". It follows similar but unheeded calls made at the very start of the pandemic, when international travel fell by more than 95% and Eurostar was forced to scale back its operation to just one service between London and Paris each day.

Derived terms

• social safety net

Related terms

• catch fence

Translations

net

• Finnish: turvaverkko (fi)
• French: filet de sécurité (fr) m
• German: Auffangnetz n
• Swedish: skyddsnät (sv) n

figuratively: anything that provides security

• Finnish: turvaverkko (fi)
• French: filet de sécurité (fr) m
• Swedish: skyddsnät (sv) n