get ahead of oneself

Verb

get ahead of oneself (third-person singular simple present gets ahead of oneself, present participle getting ahead of oneself, simple past got ahead of oneself, past participle (UK) got ahead of oneself or (US) gotten ahead of oneself)

1. (idiomatic) To focus excessively on one's plans or on prospective future events without paying adequate attention to the present.
   • Montgomerie suspected he was getting ahead of himself. "I think I am thinking about next week too much," he said.1997 July 12, Andy Farrell, “Sport: Fulke's 12 birdies fail to fell Lehman”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 25 Jul 2012
   • "I felt like she plays just one shot at a time. She never gets ahead of herself."1998 July 28, Ira Berkow, “GOLF: Raised To Be A Champion; Father's Firm Push Sent Pak To the Top of Women's Golf”, in New York Times, retrieved 25 Jul 2012
2. (idiomatic) To develop an opinion based on insufficient information or to take action prematurely.
   • Channel 4 News's Samira Ahmed rather got ahead of herself when she told viewers on Saturday afternoon that Liverpool had beaten Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final-even thought it was still 90 minutes away from kick-off.2006 April 28, “Media Monkey: Channel 4's crystal ball”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 25 Jul 2012
   • “Frankly,” he said in a moment, “I think the chief constable has got ahead of himself on this one. There's no real evidence the man was murdered.”2007, Cassandra Chan, Village Affairs, →ISBN, page 18
3. (idiomatic) To speak or write in a manner in which one makes points out of logical or chronological sequence.
   • She talked so excitedly that she got ahead of herself and looked bewildered and cried out, "What was I saying?"1951, Tennessee Williams, “The Resemblance Between a Violin Case and Coffin”, in John Updike, Katrina Kennison, editors, The Best American Short Stories of the Century, published 2000, →ISBN, page 316
   • I think he just got ahead of himself in telling first of the arrest of John, then jumped back to the earlier baptism of Jesus.2005, Christopher B. Sanford, Matthew: Christian Rabbi, →ISBN, page 64