don't count your chicks before they hatch

English

Proverb

don't count your chicks before they hatch

  1. Alternative form of don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
    • 1949 March 11, Myron Auer, “Apprentice Broadcast”, in Fort Wayne Works News, volume 32, number 10, Fort Wayne, Ind., →OCLC, page 7, column 4:
      This is the last week of this semester, fellows. Are all your spirits high? Or are they like your grades? I’m glad those exams are down the river, aren’t you? Don’t count your chicks before they hatch. We have one more semester before we celebrate all summer.
    • 1974, Laura Ross, “Young Abe Wrestles Armstrong”, in Holiday Puppets, New York, N.Y.: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company, →ISBN, “Lincoln’s Birthday” section, page 32:
      Armstrong (with scorn): Abe, where are your muscles? I’m gonna throw you, Stringbean! / Lincoln (speaking slowly): Oh, I have a few muscles, Jack. You will see. Don’t count your chicks before they hatch.
    • 1994, Linda Raymond, chapter 6, in Rocking the Babies, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, page 139:
      “I think I’ll adopt that little Baby Doe myself,” Martha said. “I know they’ll have a hard time finding a home willing to take in a crack baby, and I’ll already have her as a foster child.” / Nettie Lee blew air through her teeth. “Don’t count your chicks before they hatch.” She stopped rocking and looked at Martha. “You know, folks get paid money to take those babies in. I thought you said money didn’t interest you. Guess you say anything that suits you at the time. Being a foster is a paid job, just like anything else.”
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.