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Erasmus Student Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Throw the baby out with the bathwater

Greetings,

I need to explain in laymen's terms what this means: "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater".

"It means there is no need to go too far, to overshoot."

Is that a good explanation?

Thank you!
  

Top answer

"Is that a good explanation? I'm not particularly swayed that this is the best we can do. I am inclined to stick to explanations already given in dictionaries.

— CalifJim

  • "Is that a good explanation?
  • I'm not particularly swayed that this is the best we can do.
  • I am inclined to stick to explanations already given in dictionaries.
  • Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater is an idiomatic expression ...
  • used to suggest an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad, or in other words, rejecting the essential along with the inessential.
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4 Answers
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Erasmus Student"It means there is no need to go too far, to overshoot."Is that a good explanation?
I'm not particularly swayed that this is the best we can do. I am inclined to stick to explanations already given in dictionaries.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater is an idiomatic expression ... used to suggest an avoidable error in wh
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Thank you for your fast reply, CalifJim. Back to the drawing board for me. Or the dictionary . . .
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Example:

William complains that he has taken a certain medication, and it hasn't worked. In fact, there were so many side effects that his condition got worse. He advises all his friends to stop taking all their medications because "medications only make things worse". His friend Robert tells him that he is throwing the baby out with the bathwater— that many medications are very
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That's a very good example. Thank you. I misunderstood the idiom.
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