Idiom idiom
don't count your chickens before they hatch
Meaning
Don't count on something good happening until it's happened.
Examples
“I know you want the job, but don't count your chickens before they hatch.”
“He is already planning his victory party, but I told him not to count his chickens before they hatch.”
“Although the initial sales figures are promising, the board advised the investors not to count their chickens before they hatch until the final quarterly report is released.”
Origin
first recorded 16th c.
first recorded 16th c.
From Aesop's fable 'The Milkmaid and Her Pail'; the English proverb form appears in Thomas Howell's New Sonnets (c. 1570).
Last updated June 7, 2026