What does put the cart before the horse mean?

Definitions for put the cart before the horse
put the cart be·fore the horse

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word put the cart before the horse.

Wiktionary

  1. put the cart before the horseverb

    To put things in the wrong order or with the wrong priorities; to put something inconsequential as more important than something more essential.

Wikipedia

  1. put the cart before the horse

    The expression cart before the horse is an idiom or proverb used to suggest something is done contrary to the natural or normally effective sequence of events. A cart is a vehicle that is ordinarily pulled by a horse, so to put the cart before the horse is an analogy for doing things in the wrong order. The figure of speech means doing things the wrong way round or with the wrong emphasis or confusing cause and effect. The meaning of the phrase is based on the common knowledge that a horse usually pulls a cart, despite rare examples of vehicles pushed by horses in 19th-century Germany and early 20th-century France.The earliest recorded use of the proverb was in the early 16th century. It was a figure of speech in the Renaissance. A variant of the proverb is used by William Shakespeare in King Lear Act I, scene iv, line 230: "May not an ass know when the cart draws the horse?"

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of put the cart before the horse in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of put the cart before the horse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of put the cart before the horse in a Sentence

  1. The Australian:

    Obviously the guy is doing a nice job, when you think about it it’s kind of cool. I’ve been kind of peeing on that parade, but you know what I’m saying. We don’t need to put the cart before the horse.

  2. Keiichi Nakamura:

    If projecting a shadow makes a woman an easy target by showing criminals there's nobody home, that would put the cart before the horse, so we'd like to commercialize it once we add variety, such as releasing a new video every day.


Translations for put the cart before the horse

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • stelle den Wagen vor das PferdGerman
  • pon el carro delante del caballoSpanish
  • mettre le panier devant le chevalFrench
  • गाड़ी को घोड़े के आगे रख दियाHindi
  • Letakkan gerobak di depan kudaIndonesian
  • metti il carro davanti al cavalloItalian
  • カートを馬の前に置きますJapanese
  • postaw wóz przed koniemPolish
  • coloque a carroça diante do cavaloPortuguese
  • گھوڑے کے سامنے ٹوکری رکھوUrdu
  • 本末倒置Chinese

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"put the cart before the horse." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 May 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/put+the+cart+before+the+horse>.

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    offensive to the mind
    A dicotyledonous
    B ostensive
    C repugnant
    D sesquipedalian

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