count one's chickens
Anticipate unhatched outcomes
To count one's chickens is to assume success before it materializes—from the proverb about counting chickens before they hatch.
The full phrase warns against premature celebration: Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
Often shortened: I know the deal looks good, but let's not count our chickens.
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
- false hopeUnfounded expectation of success
- jump the gunStart before permitted
- get ahead of oneselfPresume outcomes prematurely
- better safe than sorryPrudence over risk
before they hatch · put the cart before the horse · self-deception · overreach · hubris · build castles in the air · castle in the air · bite off more than one can chew · premature · crying wolf · make a mountain out of a molehill · overconfident · like a bull in a china shop · confirmation bias · jumping to conclusions · anticipate · cross that bridge · pie in the sky
count one's chickenswait and see
Defer until clarity comes
hedge one's bets · err on the side of caution · hold one's horses · keep one's powder dry · bide one's time
count one's chickenscatastrophize
Mentally magnify potential disasters
count, counts, counted, counting, counter, counters, recount, recounts, recounted