Dictionary

put the cart before the horse en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To put things in the wrong order or with the wrong priorities; to put something inconsequential as more important than something more essential.
   • Mr. Schumer said that the idea of agreeing to a date for a vote before the committee had held hearings was "to put the cart before horse." 2005 July 27, David D. Kirkpatrick, “Timing of Hearings and Vote Stalls Confirmation Talks”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2021, retrieved 06 Nov 2008:
   • Saying, as some people do, "If I could get these other problems straightened out, then the drinking would take care of itself" is putting the cart before the horse. You can't deal with emotions like love and hate and rage when you're numbing yourself with chemicals. 1979 December 8, Dick Bowring, quoting Elizabeth Hjeltness, “HATS Helps Gay Alcoholics”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 20, page 11:
   • To attempt to remove the armaments before removing these substantive conflicts of interest is to put the cart before the horse. 1957 December 2, “Corruption of the Mind”, in TIME, archived from the original on 21 Nov 2007:
   • The hour had struck; and with it, as always, appeared the man. So it has ever been in the history of the world; though we, with characteristic vanity, uniformly put the cart before the horse, and declare that it is the man that brings the hour. 1898, Julian Hawthorne, chapter 1, in The History of the United States:

Forms

Relateds

ass-backwards · through the wrong end of the telescope · tail wagging the dog · hysteron proteron · jump the gun

Translations (42)

fr mettre la charrue avant les bœufs (to put things in the wrong order) · de den Pflug vor die Ochsen spannen (to put things in the wrong order) · ru начина́ть не с того́ конца́ (to put things in the wrong order) · wa mete li tchår divant les boûs (to put things in the wrong order) · yue 食屎屙飯 /食屎屙饭 (to put things in the wrong order) · es poner el carro delante del caballo (to put things in the wrong order) · fi laittaa reki hevosen edelle (to put things in the wrong order) · he רתם את העגלה לפני הסוסים (to put things in the wrong order) · el προτρέχω (to put things in the wrong order) · ja 本末転倒する (to put things in the wrong order) · cmn 本末顛倒 /本末颠倒 (to put things in the wrong order) · id dahulu bajak daripada jawi (to put things in the wrong order) · fi nousta latvasta puuhun (to put things in the wrong order) · it mettere il carro davanti ai buoi (to put things in the wrong order) · es empezar la casa por el tejado (to put things in the wrong order) · de das Pferd von hinten aufzäumen (to put things in the wrong order) · nb sette kjerra foran hesten (to put things in the wrong order) · cmn 本末倒置 (to put things in the wrong order) · gl poñer o carro diante dos bois (to put things in the wrong order) · pl postawić na głowie (to put things in the wrong order) · is byrja á öfugum enda (to put things in the wrong order) · wa brider si tchvå på cou (to put things in the wrong order) · wa tchôkî l' tcherete divant les tchvås (to put things in the wrong order) · fi mennä takapuoli edellä puuhun (to put things in the wrong order) · ru ста́вить теле́гу впереди́ ло́шади (to put things in the wrong order) · lv jūgt vezumu zirgam priekšā (to put things in the wrong order) · nl het paard achter de wagen spannen (to put things in the wrong order) · hu nyúl viszi a puskát (to put things in the wrong order) · wa mete li tcherowe divant les boûs (to put things in the wrong order) · es poner la venda antes de la herida (to put things in the wrong order) · ms buat kerja balik bokong (to put things in the wrong order) · is hafa endaskipti á hlutunum (to put things in the wrong order) · yue 本末倒置 (to put things in the wrong order) · fi toimia nurinkurisesti (to put things in the wrong order) · pt colocar o carro à frente dos bois (to put things in the wrong order) · nb sette vognen foran hesten (to put things in the wrong order) · es poner el carro delante de los bueyes (to put things in the wrong order) · pl stawiać na głowie (to put things in the wrong order) · eo ne iru fadeno antaŭ kudrilo (to put things in the wrong order) · es poner el carro delante del burro (to put things in the wrong order) · ro a pune căruța înaintea cailor (to put things in the wrong order) · ast pasar el carru delantre los gües (to put things in the wrong order)