first things first

first things first idiom
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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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