This phrase has become more and more common in the past century as a way of saying “to begin something before adequate preparation has been made.”
The expression originated, as far as experts can tell, in the United States in the early 1900s in the area of track and field.
The races would start as soon as a gunshot was fired into the air and attempting to start before the gunshot resulted in disqualification, so it took away any chances of finishing the race.
Enquanto você lê
Ler sobre inglês não é falar inglês.
Em 200 horas a gente tira você do “entendo mas não falo”. Descubra em qual módulo você entra.
O que mudou foi ter ordem. Antes eu estudava solto.
One aspect of this phrase that might be confusing to those learning English is the use of the word “jump.” Usually this word means “pular.” However, in this case, it means to make a sudden, unexpected movement. Therefore, the phrase “jump the gun” literally means “make a sudden, unexpected movement before the gunshot has been fired.”
Of course, the contexts in which this phrase is used have multiplied over the years. The expression no longer only refers to track and field races, but can refer to any action taken without adequate preparation. Here is an example of how it is used: It is best if we proceed with caution so that we do not jump the gun and do something wrong.
The title of this article shows how this phrase is used: http://news.cnet.com/Did-Netscape-jump-the-gun-with-new-browser/2100-1023_3-249207.html The article takes the position that Netscape should have waited for Mozilla to launch its browser five months from now before launching their own.
According to the article, because Netscape was so quick to launch their own browser, they failed to correct all the problems with it. As a result, they will not be able to compete with Microsoft like they thought they would.
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