proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying postpones counting chickens until they hatch. As an analogy, it separates an expected gain from one already realised.
What the words are saying
The eggs make the uncertain result concrete. A useful application can keep plans conditional rather than assuming every hoped-for outcome. It does not require avoiding preparation or establish what will happen in a particular nest or undertaking.
Everyday example
A team plans for a possible resource increase but does not spend it before it is confirmed.
When to use it
Use it to distinguish a possible gain from a confirmed one.
What it does not mean
Preparation can still be useful; no outcome or hatching prediction is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 263; PDF page 41
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.