Do not holloa till you are out of the wood.

Do not celebrate, boast, or announce success while danger or difficulty still remains. A result is not secure merely because the worst part seems to have passed; wait until the undertaking is truly complete.

The image treats the wood as a place of possible threat and confusion, where a premature shout may be unsafe or foolish. It advises restraint in moments of apparent progress and cautions against assuming that an escape has already been achieved.

Use it to warn someone against declaring victory too early—for example, before a project is finished, a contest is decided, or a risky situation has fully ended. “Holloa” is an older spelling for a loud call or shout, giving the saying a traditional proverbial tone.