Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" is an idiomatic expression for an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad, or in other words, rejecting the favorable along with the unfavorable.[1][2][3]

Earliest record of the phrase from Narrenbeschwörung (Appeal to Fools) by Thomas Murner, 1512

A slightly different explanation suggests this flexible catchphrase has to do with discarding the essential while retaining the superfluous because of excessive zeal.[4][upper-alpha 1]

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; this book 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.[6][7]

Thomas Carlyle adapted the concept in an 1849 essay on slavery:[7]

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![8]

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.[8]

Alternative expressions

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

  • Throw out the champagne with the cork[9]
  • Empty the baby out with the bath[10]

References

Notes
  1. In other words, the idiom is applicable not only when throwing out the baby with the bathwater, but also when someone might throw out the baby and keep the bathwater.[5]

Citations
  1. Cheng Lim Tan. (2002). Advanced English Idioms for Effective Communication, p. 52.
  2. "What Does "Throwing the Baby out with the Bath Water" Mean?". Wisegeek.com. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  3. Jewell, Elizabeth, ed. (2006). The Pocket Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus (2nd edition), p. 53.
  4. The World Book Dictionary, Vol. 1, p. 146.
  5. Nichols, James. (1995). Assessment Case Studies: Common Issues in Implementation with Various Campus Approaches to Resolution, p. 16.
  6. Wilton, David. (2004). Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, pp. 66-67.
  7. Quinion, Michael (6 April 2013). "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water". Newsletter. World Wide Words. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  8. Wilton, p. 67.
  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.
  10. Kirkpatrick, Betty. (1999). Clichés: Over 1500 Phrases Explored and Explained, pp. 180-181, citing George Bernard Shaw's "Parent's and Children" (1914).

Bibliography
  • Ammer, Christine (1997). Throw out the baby with the bath water. The American Heritage dictionary of idioms. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0-395-72774-X. ISBN 978-0-395-72774-4
  • Cheng Lim Tan. (2002). Advanced English Idioms for Effective Communication. Singapore: Singapore Asian Publications. ISBN 978-981-4122-35-1; OCLC 226051976
  • Nichols, James. (1995). Assessment Case Studies: Common Issues in Implementation with Various Campus Approaches to Resolution. New York: Agathon Press. ISBN 978-0-87586-112-8; OCLC 33132059
  • Quinion, Michael (6 April 2013). "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water". Newsletter. World Wide Words. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  • Shaw Bernard and Edwin Wilson. (1961). Shaw on Shakespeare: an Anthology of Bernard Shaw's Writings on Plays and Production of Shakespeare. New York: E.F. Dutton. reprinted in 2002 by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, New York. ISBN 978-1-55783-561-1; OCLC 49690475
  • Wilton, David. (2004). Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-517284-3; ISBN 978-0-7394-5593-7; OCLC 54767339
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