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throw the baby out with the bathwater. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
throw the baby out with the bathwater, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
throw the baby out with the bathwater in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
throw the baby out with the bathwater you have here. The definition of the word
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throw the baby out with the bathwater, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From a German proverb that dates to 1512. First recorded by Thomas Murner in his satire Narrenbeschwörung. First appeared in English when Thomas Carlyle translated it and used it in an 1849 essay on slavery.
Pronunciation
Verb
throw the baby out with the bathwater (third-person singular simple present throws the baby out with the bathwater, present participle throwing the baby out with the bathwater, simple past threw the baby out with the bathwater, past participle thrown the baby out with the bathwater)
- (idiomatic) To discard, especially inadvertently, something valuable while in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted.
They cancelled the entire project because the new management didn't like the prototype, but I think they threw the baby out with the bathwater.
Translations
(idiomatic) to discard something valuable
References
- “Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater”, in BBC Learning English, BBC, 2014 October 14
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