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Discover LudwigThe phrase "at first before" is not correct and does not make sense in written English.
It seems to be an attempt to convey a sequence of events, but the wording is awkward and unclear.
Example: "At first before making a decision, I gathered all the necessary information."
Alternatives: "initially prior to" or "first before".
Exact(59)
Trump seemed to take the inquiries in stride, at first, before suddenly veering into a passive-aggressive attack.
The goal is to a reach a total of ten minutes at first before going as long as you can.
It appeared they were playing carefully at first before deciding whether to try to achieve the target at a later point.
It appeared that they were playing carefully at first before deciding whether to try and achieve the target at a later point.
Crisp broke back at first before charging hard.
They'd whistled at first, before she got used to them, but now they were fine.
"No, thank you," she said at first, before succumbing to Mr. Todd's last-chance sales pitch.
Trump evaded the question at first, before winkingly conceding that he would.
"I didn't know," said McGwire, who actually stopped at first before rounding the bases.
So Sky stepped in, taking a 50% share at first, before taking full control in 2005.
Similar(1)
Such men (few women have the Dark Triad) are more successful with women at first, before becoming abusive and unfaithful.
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Since I tried Ludwig back in 2017, I have been constantly using it in both editing and translation. Ever since, I suggest it to my translators at ProSciEditing.

Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak
CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com