Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater explained

"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" is an idiomatic expression for an avoidable error in which something good or of value is eliminated when trying to get rid of something unwanted.[1] [2] [3]

A slightly different explanation suggests this flexible catchphrase has to do with discarding the essential while retaining the superfluous because of excessive zeal.[4]

History

This idiom derives from a German proverb, das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten. The earliest record of this phrase is in 1512, in Narrenbeschwörung (Appeal to Fools) by Thomas Murner, which includes a woodcut illustration showing a woman tossing a baby out with waste water. It is a common catchphrase in German, with examples of its use in work by Martin Luther, Johannes Kepler, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Otto von Bismarck, Thomas Mann, and Günter Grass.[5] [6]

Thomas Carlyle adapted the concept in an 1849 essay on slavery:

Carlyle is urging his readers to join in the struggle to end slavery, but he also encourages them to be mindful of the need to try to avoid harming the slaves in the process.

Alternative expressions

The meaning and intent of the English idiomatic expression is sometimes presented in different terms.

References

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Cheng Lim Tan. (2002). Advanced English Idioms for Effective Communication, p. 52.
  2. Web site: What Does "Throwing the Baby out with the Bath Water" Mean? . Wisegeek.com . May 31, 2013.
  3. Jewell, Elizabeth, ed. (2006). The Pocket Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus (2nd edition), p. 53.
  4. https://books.google.com/books?id=KkWR2TV_O8sC&dq=throw+out+the+baby+with+the+bath+water&pg=RA2-PA146 The World Book Dictionary, Vol. 1, p. 146.
  5. Wilton, David. (2004). Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, pp. 66-67.
  6. Web site: Michael . Quinion . Michael Quinion . Don't throw the baby out with the bath water . . Newsletter . 826 . 6 April 2013 . 6 April 2013.
  7. Shaw Bernard and Edwin Wilson. (1961). Shaw on Shakespeare: an Anthology of Bernard Shaw's Writings on Plays and Production of Shakespeare, p. xvii.
  8. Kirkpatrick, Betty. (1999). Clichés: Over 1500 Phrases Explored and Explained, pp. 180-181, citing George Bernard Shaw's "Parent's and Children" (1914).
  9. Shaw Bernard and Edwin Wilson. (1961). Shaw on Shakespeare: an Anthology of Bernard Shaw's Writings on Plays and Production of Shakespeare, p. xvii.