count one’s chickens—anticipate some benefit, with the implication that it may not materialize (in allusion to the proverb “don’t count your chickens before they are hatched”):
- He had been counting his chickens and borrowing money on the strength of his expectations as his uncle’s sole heir.
count sheep—try to fall asleep by counting imaginary sheep jumping over a stile one by one:
- Did you know that if you count sheep, it is watching the sheep jump that sends you off?