Do not exult until all danger or difficulty is past. Halloo literally means to shout in order to attract attention.
This is Hollowing before you are out of the Wood.
[1770 B. Franklin Papers (1973) XVIII. 356]
It is an old and a just proverb, ‘Never halloo until you are out of the woods.’
[1800 A. Adams Letter 13 Nov. (1848) 381]
Don't holla till you are out of the wood. This is a night for praying rather than boasting.
[1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. iii.]
Don't halloo till you're out of the wood. I'll bet my head to a china orange we shall have trouble before to-morrow night.
[1936 ‘E. C. R. Lorac’ Crime Counter Crime i.]
‘Don't whistle till you're out of the woods,’ I advised her. ‘The investigation hasn't even begun.’
[1947 M. Long Dull Thud x. 99]
Related to: peril; trouble
Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.
