What’s the quote concerning throwing the baby out with the dirty water?
Posted by admin in Finance Wednesday, 26 October 2011 03:45 2 Comments
There’s a quote saying something about Don’t throw the baby out with the dirty water. What’s the exact quote and what does it mean?
Throwing the Baby out with the Bath Water
Throwing the baby out with the bath water is an expression that suggests one doesn’t need to reject an entire idea, concept or practice if only part of it is good. The baby, in this sense, represents the good part. The bath water, on the other hand, is usually dirty after the baby is washed and needs to be discarded.
There are many ideas on the possible origins of this expression. Most incorrectly attribute the expression to English or Irish origin. Throwing the baby out with the bath water is first recorded in 1512, and used by the German writer, Thomas Murner, in his verse book, Die Narrenbeschworung. From Germany, the expression became commonly used in the UK, and then also became popular in France.
Throwing the baby out with the bath water.
It refers to rejecting something useful in an idea (the ‘baby’) along with the useless (the ‘bath water’). The phrase comes from the fact that before plumbing, baths would be taken in metal tubs filled with hot water. Since everyone shared the same water, by the time you were done it would be pretty mucky, hence you might not realise the baby was in there, and when you emptied out the tub outside you might throw away the baby with it. I think.