jump in vs jump the gun
"jump in" & "jump the gun" have the same meaning: to do something quickly, often without thinking about it carefully.
Are they the same and is it okay to use them interchangeably?

The examples below are for "jump the gun," but I changed "jump the gun" to "jump in." Is it possible to say like below?
- Isn’t it jumping in starting talking about marriage?
- I think it would be jumping in signing the agreement at this stage.

Thank you!

Question

jump in vs jump the gun
"jump in" & "jump the gun" have the same meaning: to do something quickly, often without thinking about it carefully.
Are they the same and is it okay to use them interchangeably?

The examples below are for "jump the gun," but I changed "jump the gun" to "jump in." Is it possible to say like below?
- Isn’t it jumping in starting talking about marriage?
- I think it would be jumping in signing the agreement at this stage.

Thank you!

Answer

No, they don't have the same meaning. The phrasal verb "jump in" has several meanings, but none of them are the same as "jump the gun", which comes directly from athletics/track & field, and means to start running before the gun fires, i.e. do something prematurely.

In your two examples, "jump in" is wrong. You have to use "jump the gun" here.

Answers · 2

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