proverb · Words worth keeping
Sell not the hare's skin before you have caught him.
Sell not the hare's skin before you have caught him.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Do not make commitments that depend on a result you have not secured. The hare’s skin still needing to be caught pictures counting an uncertain benefit as though it were already yours to promise.
Example
A club expects donated display cases but waits for the donor’s confirmation before offering them to another group for a fixed date.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The sale assumes possession of a skin while the hare is still beyond reach. Figuratively, a person may promise a resource or arrange its use before the condition that supplies it has been met. The useful response makes that dependency clear and distinguishes a provisional plan from a confirmed commitment. Planning ahead can be sensible when everyone understands the uncertainty. The warning is against presenting a hoped-for outcome as settled, not against preparing for it. It offers no instruction about hunting or a specific financial transaction. Its concern is an honest account of what can actually be promised now.
When to use it
Use it when a commitment relies on obtaining something that remains uncertain.
Keep in mind
Advance plans can be conditional; make uncertainty clear rather than claiming possession or certainty.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English