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I sometimes see "safe the date" on webpages. I always thought it was "save the date" as in "saving the date to a calendar". Also, there is no verb safe.

Using "safe the date" feels wrong to me.

And, is "save the date" a phrase that is commonly used or is there a better phrase?

AFAIK it means something like "please save the date to your calendar (or remember the date and block it)".

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    'Safe' is not a verb. 'Safe the date' is an error. You could say 'reserve the date' if you wanted. – Michael Harvey Aug 7 '20 at 8:22
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    I have heard phrases like "safe the gun" meaning to make the weapon safe (I imagine it means to remove all the bullets and check that there is no possibility of it firing). I think "safe the date" derives from mishearing the word "save", they can sound quite similar and thus be confused. – AdrianHHH Aug 7 '20 at 11:07
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    Save the date is the standard thing to write when you are advising people of a forthcoming event but are not yet ready to issue a formal invitation. – mdewey Aug 7 '20 at 11:37
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It's "save the date". "Safe the date" is a malapropism, like "for all-intensive purposes" (for all intents and purposes), "make my words" (mark my words), etc.

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