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(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
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Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch (Origin)
What Is the Origin of the Saying "Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch"?
The term "don't count your chickens before they hatch" means don't rely on something until you're sure of it. In other words, it is warning not to rush to evaluate a situation without knowing the outcome.
A version of "don't count your chickens" first appears in English print in English poet Thomas Howell's "New Sonnets" from 1570:
- "Counte not thy Chickens that vnhatched be, Waye wordes as winde, till thou finde certaintee."
- "To swallow gudgeons ere they're catch'd,
And count their chickens ere they're hatched."
- Spanish: "No cantes victoria antes de tiempo" (Don't sing victory before time.)
- Russian: "Не продавай шкуры, не убив медведя." (Don't sell the skin having not killed the bear.)
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