Putting the cart before the horse means doing things in the wrong order. It describes a situation where someone tries to do a later step before the earlier step that should come first.
The idiom comes from the simple image of a horse pulling a cart. If the cart is placed in front of the horse, it cannot be pulled, so nothing works properly. The phrase has been used since at least the 1500s.
The idiom comes from the simple image of a horse pulling a cart. If the cart is placed in front of the horse, it cannot be pulled, so nothing works properly. The phrase has been used since at least the 1500s.
Trying to decorate the house before the walls are painted is putting the cart before the horse.