Where does the saying wash the baby out with the bath water come from?

Answer 1

this idiom stated in the early to mid 15th century, as personal hygine was nothing like it is today....somtimes bathing practices where where exercised once or twice a year....when it came to the family bath...the men /father , would bath first..in the same tub...mind you...and on down the line..sons, then women and the baby last!!...water being so dirty after the family wash party...that if not careful..you could "throw the baby out with the bath water"

Nowadays " don't throw the baby out with the bathwater " means not to dismiss an entire plan or idea that has some merit , but to keep the good [baby] and get rid of the bad [bathwater] .

Don't put the cart before the horse

Answer 2

from the ancient practsise of having a bath in spring. The winterter was done and the there was the first warm bath of the year.. so a whole winters colected dirt had to be cleaned..the man of the house had the first dip, then the women, children and finally the baby.. by which time the tub was pretty muddy and there ws a chance they would empty it out with the baby.. so they had to be carefull not to throw the baby out with the bathwater

Answer 3

To throw the baby out with the bath water is to make an operation accomplish the opposite of its stated intent, by over-management of its procedure. A hot-line that installs an automatic answering machine putting callers on hold, in order to save costs, could be said to have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Answer 4

Back in earlier times; before indoor Plumbing; an entire family would use the same bath water and would bathe from the oldest to the youngest with the baby being the last to get a bath. The water would be so dirty at that point that you might lose the baby in the bath water and throw the baby out with the bath water.

Answer 5

If changes of any kind are needed in any kind of system, keep in mind that there may be things about the old system that are beneficial and shouldn't be eliminated. Get rid of what is not necessary and what is detrimental, but keep anything that is good. Otherwise you are getting rid of the baby (the good stuff) with the bath (the useless dirty water).

Answer 6

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.

Is an old saying which means - inadvertently losing or getting rid of something of value while getting rid of something of no value; making a mistake in judgement; an unintended consequence.

Answer 7

The terms first known appearance is in the 1512 book by German satirist and Franciscan monk; Thomas Murner entitled "Narrenbeschworung".

Answer 8

First published 1909, G.B. Shaw