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In Italian, saltare ("jump") is a verb that is figuratively used in many cases, such as in saltare a certe conclusioni, which is used when somebody, basing on some known facts, deduces something that somebody else doesn't see as an obvious conclusion.

For example, if somebody is the last person seen with somebody else who died, and they have been seen fighting between each other, that person could be investigated for murdering. His lawyer would say that thinking he is the murder would be saltare a certe conclusioni, since his customer has been seen with the person who died 24 hours before he died, and it is still not clear if that person was killed, or died because an accident.

What is the equivalent of saltare a certe conclusioni I should use in English?

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Jump to a conclusion is perfectly acceptable and known. Similarly, leap to a conclusion is also acceptable. These can be used as forms such as: leaping to conclusions, jumped to the wrong conclusion, etc.

You could even extend this to create something like vaulting to a conclusion - which I would take to mean that the 'jump' has been made with very little evidence to support the conclusion arrived at.

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  • While one could extend this to vault, I think it's worth pointing out that such usage might sound awkward, or at least unfamiliar. Jump to conclusions is almost idiomatic, leap is used on occasion, and vault flatlines on an Ngram. I'd interpret all three to mean "conclude hastily without supporting evidence," but assume that the rarer words were meant to imply particularly hasty conclusions.
    – J.R. ♦
    Feb 21, 2013 at 19:26
  • Once it's in place it invites extension: hopping to a conclusion, stumbling to a conclusion, shambling to a conclusion, sidling to a conclusion, frog-marching the reader to a conclusion ...
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Feb 22, 2013 at 0:57
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Yes, you can jump to a conclusion in English. (A lawyer, by the way, has clients rather than customers.)

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