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.

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.