Question of the Day #1042

“Rather than doing a comprehensive review while the scheduled oil and gas lease sales took place, the secretary ‘put the cart before the horse,’” the judge wrote.

From the 5th paragraph of this article at Reuters.

  上記の文で、put the cart before the horseの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "put the cart before the horse" mean?

  答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

 

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

馬の前に荷車をつなぐ、間違った順序で物事を行う、非論理的なことをする、本末を転倒する、前後を誤る

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to do things in the wrong order

 

Examples

• People are putting the cart before the horse by making plans on how to spend the money before we are even certain that the money will be available.
• Aren't you putting the cart before the horse by deciding what to wear for the wedding before you've even been invited to it?
• The government put the cart before the horse by investing heavily before making major reforms.
• Increasing the private patient income cap as a percentage of total patient related income is to put the cart before the horse. Times, Sunday Times (2012)
• The Government put the cart before the horse by investing heavily before making major reforms. Times, Sunday Times (2007)

   

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