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#1 2007-04-02 03:53:46

Craig C Clarke
Eggcornista
Registered: 2005-11-18
Posts: 233
Website

"Put the car before the horse" (car for cart)

“Designing the other important pieces of a system of decentralized finances, revenue assignments and transfers, in the absence of a clear expenditure assignment is to put the car before the horse.”

http://www1.worldbank.org/wbiep/decentr … c05.03.htm

About 980 google hits. Some are obviously intentional puns, usually in discussions of transportation technology or similar subjects, and some others have to be simply typos, but I suspect that many are eggcornish.

People are likely thinking that since the car was invented for transportation after the use of the horse, “putting the car before the horse” is a way to describe getting things out of proper sequence.

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#2 2007-04-06 02:16:17

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: "Put the car before the horse" (car for cart)

A nice find, Craig—and a convincing analysis.

I like the instances where people use “putting the horse before the cart” to signal something negative or imprudent. Woe betide any phrase that outlives the technology that spawned it. Examples:

I have a feeling this may be a case of putting the horse before the cart…there’s no need to create a detailed site plan if this is purely speculative.
http://www.designcommunity.com/forums/t … highlight=

It is, however, incomplete because the r in the PVED formula should ultimately depend on the firm’s opportunities and plans; i.e., the pricing that takes place in the equity market must be consistent with the firm’s expected transactions and their economic consequences. Introducing r in PVED before having considered the underlying dynamic therefore puts the horse before the cart. Hence we need to consider r’s presence in the dynamic xt+1 = R . xt – r . dt + zt, where zt+1 = g . zt.
http://www.nowpublishers.com/product.as … on=x1-94r7

When a district puts the horse before the cart, investing all of its money in equipment and networking rather than taking a more balanced approach, the strategies outlined in this article may seem preposterous.
http://fno.org/mar01/howlearn.html

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#3 2007-04-06 02:18:22

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: "Put the car before the horse" (car for cart)

Oh—and congratulations on reaching the magic 50, Craig!

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