baby and bathwater
Used in reference to an error in which something valuable is discarded in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater when you change the system.”
“While we need to fix the budget, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater by cutting essential services.”
“In their rush to modernize the company, the new managers threw the baby out with the bathwater by discarding the very traditions that made the brand successful.”
From the phrase throw the baby out with the bathwater.
- 01
babies in the eyes
The minute reflection which one sees of oneself in the eyes of another.
- 02
baby elephant in the room
An obvious but mostly inconsequential issue.
- 03
baby step
A small effort made towards the completion of a much larger task.
- 04
baby up
To treat as a baby.
- 05
basin of gravy
[Cockney slang]baby
- 06
be left holding the baby
To be left with the responsibility of resolving a problem.
- 07
black babies
Third-world charities, the missions.
- 08
food baby
A protruding belly resulting from the consumption of a large quantity of food; the contents of one's digestive system causing the protrusion.
Last updated August 10, 2026