ENGLISH
REFERENCE

baby and bathwater

idiom
Meaning

Used in reference to an error in which something valuable is discarded in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted.


Origin

disputed origin

From the phrase throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Examples
SIMPLE

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater when you change the system.

CONTEXTUAL

While we need to fix the budget, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater by cutting essential services.

COMPLEX

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.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    baby elephant in the room

    An obvious but mostly inconsequential issue.

  2. 02

    baby step

    A small effort made towards the completion of a much larger task.

  3. 03

    baby up

    To treat as a baby.

  4. 04

    basin of gravy

    [Cockney slang]baby

  5. 05

    be left holding the baby

    To be left with the responsibility of resolving a problem.

  6. 06

    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.

  7. 07

    leave someone holding the baby

    To abandon someone and put them in a position where they must take the responsibility or blame.

  8. 08

    make baby Jesus cry

    To provoke a negative reaction due to being offensive, unpleasant, immoral, etc.

© 2026 English Reference