don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched

A form of don't count your chickens before they're hatched — One should not depend upon a favorable (and typically overoptimistic) outcome to one's plans until it is certain to occur.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. alternativeAlternative form of don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
Cite this entry
APA

don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/don't%20count%20your%20chickens%20before%20the%20eggs%20have%20hatched

MLA

“don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/don't%20count%20your%20chickens%20before%20the%20eggs%20have%20hatched. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/don't%20count%20your%20chickens%20before%20the%20eggs%20have%20hatched.

Source: don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.