bathwater
UK //bˈɑːθwɔːtɐ// bath·wa·ter
- 01
baby and bathwater
Used in reference to an error in which something valuable is discarded in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted.
- 02
throw the baby out with the bathwater
To discard, inadvertently or through overzealousness, something valuable or essential ("the baby") in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted or undesirable ("the bathwater").