what is meant by "the baby gets thrown out of the bath water"?

Question

I would really appreciate it if anyone could explain what the phrase implies and maybe give an example of how it should be used. Thank you so much.

Answer 1

That's out "with" the bath water. Like you forgot the kid was there and you tossed them aside.

Answer 2

It's an old saying back when people would use a small tub to bathe, water from the wells, and had a litter of kids, the adults will wash themselves first and then in order the kids... the last to bathe was the baby, so the water was really dirty and soapy by then. So bvasically the baby was the only good thing in there.... Today the expression means at best to pay attention not to miss a good thing amist the bad... or derivations from this. It really can be used in a lot of life circumstances.

Answer 3

I think you meant to say the baby gets thrown out with the bath water. You never throw a baby out of the bath water because serious injury could occur. If the baby is still in the water then the water will act as a cushion.

People sometimes refer to this phrase when they want to indicate that to solve a problem you don´t get rid of everything but only the things that need to be replaced.

Answer 4

After a person or baby takes a traditional bath, the water is considered dirty and un-usable, therefore, it is usually thrown out or away. People use this term to illustrate that when something is considered bad (like the water) you wouldn't throw the baby you just washed in the water out with it.

I invented a gizmo that is supposed to automatically paint your walls while you are not home. I try it and it doesn't work, and it leaves a mess. I get angry and begin to trash my invention. My invention is not neccesarily a bad one, it justs need work. So someone might say " don;t throw the baby out with the bath water". Meaning, clean up the mess but don't give up on your invention.

Any idea can be the "baby" any problems with the idea can be the "water". Don't give up on something just because it made a mess.

Answer 5

No, it is this way
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
This means, you throw out the dirty bath water after you bathe the baby. But just make sure you don't throw the baby out, too!
This means that you don't throw away something that is very, very valuable and special (the baby) just becuase there is some problem (dirty water).
For example: You have a great job with a good salary (the baby) but you think of leaving because there is an annoying person who works with you. Leaving the job would be "throwing the baby out with the bath water" because you tried to get away from the annoying person, and in the process you lost a very good job.

Answer 6

That means don't throw the good out with the bad.

The origin of the saying goes back a long time when baths were not taken everyday. When it was bath day, a family had to share the bath water so they would all go in one after the other. Since the baby is the youngest, they would be bathed last. Suffice it to say, with all that bathing and people and the amount of time in between baths, the water got pretty dirty...

Answer 7

Back in the day in Europe people used to have a tub in which they took bath and then since there were no drainage facilities, they would throw the water out of their windows (this is why a 'gentleman' always walks with his lady friend on his right side, or keeps the lady away from the buildings). you have to remember that the standards of hygiene were different to what it is now. and the bathwater usually murky .. and it was easy to loose the baby in there and throw the baby along with the bath water.. this is where the phrase originates.. apparently.

Answer 8

It means to dump good things when you clean out the bad. You have to throw away the bath water after bathing the baby, so throwing away the baby with the bath water means you are losing the important, good thing while getting rid of the bad. Example--social security reform. The present system needs a little tweaking to get it financially solvent. That would be the equivalent of just getting rid of the bath water. Privatizing it would be getting rid of the whole system, which is actually very efficient, meaning you would be throwing out the good with the bad, throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Answer 9

The correct phrase is "the baby got thrown out WITH the bath water".

It implies that someone is not paying attention to what they are doing.

Like when a person who is washing a baby did not pay attention to where the baby was when tossing out the bath water?

Answer 10

I believe you would say "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water" as in "This job sucks, but hey, don't throw the baby out with the bath water - at least I get paid well." It means to keep the positive in perspective, and alternatively, to use common sense. People today still bathe their infants in a small tub, but obviously you wouldn't thow away the baby - just the dirty water!

Answer 11

Throw the baby out with the bathwater
Meaning:
We use this expression when we want to keep the valuable things when we get rid of the things we don't want. It is usually used in the negative to mean that we don't want to throw out the good stuff when we throw out the bad stuff.

Example dialogue:
Two friends are talking about making changes to a personal website.
A: I'm going to make some changes to my website soon.
B: Oh really? What kind of changes? You're still going to keep the old pages, aren't you?
A: Yes, of course. The old pages will still be on the site.
B: Oh, good. I don't want you to throw the baby out with the bathwater