Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Cart before the Horse To put the cart before the horse is to reverse the right order or allocation of things. French: "Mettre la charrette avant les boeufs." Latin: "Currus bovem trahit Praepostere." Greek: "Hysteron proteron." German: "Die pferde hinter den wagen spannen." Italian: "Metter il carro inanzi ai buoi." Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Disorder | Phrase: the cart before the horse; gr/hysteron proteron/gr chaos is come again; "the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds ". |
Inversion | Invert, subvert, retrovert, introvert; reverse; up turn, over turn, up set, over set; turn topsy turvy; Adjective: culbuter; transpose, put the cart before the horse, turn the tables. |
Unskillfulness | Begin at the wrong end; do things by halves; (not complete); make two bites of a cherry; play at cross purposes; strain at a gnat and swallow a camel; (caprice); put the cart before the horse; lock the stable door when the horse is stolen; (too late). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: CART BEFORE THE HORSE |
| Specialty definitions using "CART BEFORE THE HORSE": Horse. ♦ Put the Cart before the Horse. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | The cart before the horse is neither beautiful nor useful. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Expressions using "CART BEFORE THE HORSE": put the cart before the horse ♦ the cart before the horse ♦ to get the cart before the horse ♦ to put the cart before the horse ♦ to set the cart before the horse. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| Language | Translations for "CART BEFORE THE HORSE"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 本末'置 (put the cart before the horse, put the incidental before the fundamental, take the branch for the root). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Greek | αντιστρέφω την σωστή σειρά (put the cart before the horse). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 本末転' (failing to properly evaluate theimportance, mistaking the cause for the end, mistaking the insignificant for the essential, putting the cart before the horse), 本末顛' (failing to properly evaluate theimportance, mistaking the cause for the end, mistaking the insignificant for the essential, putting the cart before the horse), 主客転' (mistaking the insignificant for the essential, mistaking the means for the end, putting the cart before the horse, reversing the order ofimportance), 主客顛' (mistaking the insignificant for the essential, mistaking the means for the end, putting the cart before the horse, reversing the order ofimportance). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | しゅかくて"とう (mistaking the insignificant for the essential, mistaking the means for the end, putting the cart before the horse, reversing the order ofimportance), ほ"まつて"とう (failing to properly evaluate theimportance, mistaking the cause for the end, mistaking the insignificant for the essential, putting the cart before the horse). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | artcay eforebay ethay orsehay pune carul înaintea boilor (put the cart before the horse). (various references) tersinden yapmak (put the cart before the horse). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-c-e-e-e-e-f-h-h-o-o-r-r-r-s-t-t" | |
-5 letters: reorchestrate. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Crosswords 2. Usage: Commercial 3. Quotations: Fiction 4. Expressions | 5. Translations: Modern 6. Anagrams 7. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.