first things first
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Do the most important tasks before less important ones
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “first things first” mean?
Do the most important tasks before less important ones
Is “first things first” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.