'needless to say,' or 'needless to say that'

[sop]

Hi
Is this considered to be an expression, an idiom etc.?Is it followed by a dependent or independent clause?Thank you in advance.

 

[Raymott]

Hi
Is this considered to be an expression, an idiom etc.?Is it followed by a dependent or independent clause?Thank you in advance.

The following are correct uses of this expression:
Needless to say, context is important.
It's needless to say that context is important.
Context is important, needless to say.
Context is important - needless to say.

It means that it should not need saying.

 

[sop]

It was very helpful.Thank you.