Ruby does have a good reason to be oddball IMO. begin isn't always required. When inside a method, module, class, or do...end block definition (read: most of th

Ruby does have a good reason to be oddball IMO. begin isn't always required. When inside a method, module, class, or do...end block definition (read: most of the time), you're able to use the rescue keyword solo. Anything raising an exception in the method above the rescue keyword will be caught. It can also be used postfixed to a statement that might raise an exception. Ruby is oddball here because it's subtly different. def a_method @value = dangerous_method_call rescue "default value in case of exception" do_something_else @value rescue puts "an error, oh no" end