Look before you leap: o que isso significa?

Imagine you've always wanted to know the world, but you've barely left your own country. One day, there comes the idea of selling your car and use the money to travel to the places you've always dreamed of. So you run up to your family and tell them what your plans are. They seem skeptical and not sure whether that's a good idea or not. So they say: selling your car you worked hard to buy for a few trips? I don't think that's a good idea. Look before you leap!

When you tell someone to look before they leap, it means they should think carefully about something before they do it. Selling your car is kind of a big deal, so once you do it there's no going back. What if the trips aren't all that you've dreamed of? What if you got lost or has your dream turned into a nightmare? Those are all the things you should think before you take the decision of selling your car.

To leap is the act of jumping. So take the literal meaning of the expression. Every time you jump from a place to another, you have to look for possible risks that there might be in the way. So you look and think if it's a good idea to leap. Back to our example, after a lot of thinking, you finally decide selling your car is worth the risk. So you go to your parents and tell them you need no more to look before leaping, because you've thought it through: you're going to get your tickets and travel the world. That's it for today guys. Talk to you next time!