1
general::
Phrase(s): put the cart before the horse
Fig. to have things in the wrong order; to have things confused and mixed up. (Also with have.) • You’re eating your dessert first! You’ve put the cart before the horse. • John has the cart before the horse in most of his projects.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
see CART BEFORE THE HORSE., Reverse the proper order of things or events, as in Don't put the cart before the horse and give away the punch line. This expression has been used since antiquity but was first recorded in English in 1520.
American Heritage Idioms