putting the cart before the horse
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Doing things in the wrong order
Literally: Placing the cart in front of the horse that pulls it
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 “putting the cart before the horse” mean?
Doing things in the wrong order Literally: Placing the cart in front of the horse that pulls it
Is “putting the cart before the horse” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.