Put the Cart Before the Horse In english explanation

The meaning, explanation, definition and origin of the idiom/phrase "Put the Cart Before the Horse", English Idiom Dictionary ( also found in Vietnamese )

Tommy Tran

2021-02-04 07:02

Meaning of Put the Cart Before the Horse

Put the Cart Before the Horse proverb disapproval informal

Not to do things in the right order or method

I think you're putting the cart before the horse by leaving your current job without getting a new one.

You should ask for permission before doing something. Don't put the cart before the horse.

Don't put the cart before the horse by saying something without consideration.

Other phrases about:

don't put the cart before the horse

Don't reverse the logical order of things

Grammar and Usage of Put the Cart Before the Horse

Verb Forms

Put the Cart Before the Horse
puts the cart before the horse
putting the cart before the horse

The verb "put" should be conjugated according to its tense.

Origin of Put the Cart Before the Horse

Put the cart before the horse. (Image Source: RalphHoweMinistries)

This phrase was used in the 16th century and was appeared in John Heywood's A Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe tongue, 1589:

"To tourne the cat in the pan, Or set the cart before the hors."

This phrase was a figure of speech in the Renaissance. A variant of it is used by William Shakespeare in King Lear Act I:

"May not an ass know when the cart draws the horse?"