泥棒を捕らえて縄を綯う
Japanese
[edit]| Kanji in this term | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 泥 | 棒 | 捕 | 縄 | 綯 |
| どろ Grade: S |
ぼう Grade: 6 |
と Grade: S |
なわ Grade: 4 |
な Hyōgai |
| kun'yomi | on'yomi | kun'yomi | ||
| Alternative spellings |
|---|
| 泥棒を捕らえて繩を綯う (kyūjitai) 泥棒を捕らえて縄をなう |
Etymology
[edit]Phrase consisting of 泥棒 (dorobō, “thief”) + を (o, object particle) + 捕らえて (toraete, conjunctive form of 捕らえる (toraeru, “to capture”)) + 縄 (nawa, “rope”) + を (o, object particle) + 綯う (nau, “to plait, to twist together”).[1]
Literally, “capture a thief, and then plait the rope.” Compare English put the cart before the horse.
Phrase
[edit]泥棒を捕らえて縄を綯う • (dorobō o toraete nawa o nau)
- (figurative, idiomatic) to make one's preparations after events have already begun: to put the cart before the horse, to start something in the eleventh hour
Synonyms
[edit]- 盗人を捕らえて縄を綯う (nusubito o toraete nawa o nau)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ “泥棒を捕らえて縄を綯う”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen][1] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
Categories:
- Japanese terms spelled with 泥 read as どろ
- Japanese terms spelled with 棒 read as ぼう
- Japanese terms spelled with 捕 read as と
- Japanese terms spelled with 縄 read as なわ
- Japanese terms spelled with 綯 read as な
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese phrases
- Japanese terms with multiple readings
- Japanese terms spelled with secondary school kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with sixth grade kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with fourth grade kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with hyōgai kanji
- Japanese terms with 5 kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with を
- Japanese idioms