Why do people say........ ?

Question

Why do people say 'Lets stop it BEFORE it starts'? How is this possible? After all, if it hasn't started yet, how can you stop it?

Answer 1

what they mean by that is if a situation may begin to start people would say that phrase to stop the situation from proceeding

Answer 2

They mean Let's not get to the point where things escalate too much or too far to stop.

ie diffuse a situation before any trouble begins.

Stop the fighting before it starts - don't let it begin.

Answer 3

It's just a figure of speech, used for emphasis. Don't get too worked up about it.    ;- }

Tho' really, if you are saying that, something HAS already started....