Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

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Meaning

A warning not to discard something valuable while getting rid of the unwanted.

Origin

From 16th-century Germany, in a 1512 satire by Thomas Murner; 'Narrenbeschwörung'; mocking fools who toss babies with bathwater, translated to English by 1853 in Carlyle's work. It reflects medieval bathing rarity; whole families used one tub, baby last, so tossing water risked all. Victorian neatness boosted it, growing into a vivid idiom of measured rejection.

Variants

  • Baby with bathwater

Usage Examples

  • Fix the system, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
  • She rewrote it; hope she didn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
  • Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater; keep the good parts!

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