put the cart before the horse
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Do not put the cart before the horse," he used to reply to anyone who came to him worried about the situation at the time.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2025
But the world, she believes, has put the cart before the horse.
From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2021
“Don’t put the cart before the horse and end up overspending because you’ve, you know, put dozens of people on your gift list,” he says.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 12, 2021
"But what is it, you can’t put the cart before the horse or whatever? We’ve got a lot of business to take care of still. We’ve got to go get Game 1."
From Fox News • Jun. 22, 2021
Indeed, bracketing decorum under the heading of style is, to some extent, to put the cart before the horse.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
