throw the baby out with the bath
throw the baby out with the bath
To discard something valuable or important while disposing of something considered worthless, especially an outdated idea or form of behavior. The phrase is often used in the negative as a warning against such thoughtless behavior. Why are we scrapping the entire project? Come on, don't throw the baby out with the bath. The main reforms of the movement were desperately needed, but I'm afraid we threw the baby out with the bath in many cases.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
throw the baby out with the bath(water)
Fig. to dispose of the good while eagerly trying to get rid of the bad. (Fig. on the image of carelessly emptying a tub of both the water inside as well as the baby that was being washed.) In her haste to talk down a project that had only a few disagreeable points, she has thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Hasty action on this major spending bill will result in throwing out the baby with the bath.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
throw the baby out with the bath water
If someone throws the baby out with the bath water, they reject an idea completely, even though some parts of it are good. Even if we don't necessarily like the whole scheme, we're not going to throw the baby out with the bath water. In rejecting traditional values, they have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
throw the baby out with the bath water
Slang To discard something valuable along with something not desired, usually unintentionally.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.