first things first

The most important task gets priority, as in I very much wanted to see that movie, but first things first—the paper's due tomorrow. This adage was first recorded in 1545.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby first things first

first sergeant, first state, first strike, first string, first thing, first things first, first water, first world, first world problem, first world war, first-born
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.