the switch in time that saved nine

proper noun

The decision of Justice Owen Roberts to join the majority opinion in the United States Supreme Court case West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, which some scholars believe prevented President Franklin D. Roosevelt from implementing a court-packing plan which would have raised the number of justices beyond nine.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. USlawThe decision of Justice Owen Roberts to join the majority opinion in the United States Supreme Court case West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, which some scholars believe prevented President Franklin D. Roosevelt from implementing a court-packing plan which would have raised the number of justices beyond nine.

Origin

From a stitch in time saves nine.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

the switch in time that saved nine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20switch%20in%20time%20that%20saved%20nine

MLA

“the switch in time that saved nine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20switch%20in%20time%20that%20saved%20nine. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the switch in time that saved nine,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20switch%20in%20time%20that%20saved%20nine.

Source: the switch in time that saved nine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.