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THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATHWATER

The idiom "throw the baby out with the bathwater" means to accidentally get rid of something valuable while trying to remove something unwanted. The idiom is often used to describe an avoidable error.




EXAMPLES

"I know you don't approve of that one item in the bill but we shouldn't throw out the baby with the bath water by voting the bill down".

"When restructuring the department, be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and eliminate essential functions.



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.

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

And if true, it is important for us, in reference to this Negro Question and some others. The Germans say, "you must empty-out the bathing-tub, but not the baby along with it." Fling-out your dirty water with all zeal, and set it careening down the kennels; but try if you can keep the little child!

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.