What is Throw out the baby with the bath water?
'''Throw out the baby with the bath water''' is an [[idiom]]. The phrase describes a special kind of mistake which happens when something good is lost while trying to get rid of something bad.<ref>{{cite book| last = Lim| first = Tan Cheng| title = Advanced English Idioms For Effective Communication| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3xn6ozLcPsAC&pg=PA524| year = 2002| publisher = Singapore Asian Publications| isbn = 978-981-4122-35-1| page = 52 }}</ref> The idiom summarizes what happens when something which is [[wikt:necessary|necessary]] is rejected along with what is not necessary.<ref>{{cite book| last = Jewell| first = Elizabeth| title = The Pocket Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fUE0bazkcxAC&pg=PA53| year = 2006| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-530715-3| page = 53 }}</ref> A slightly different explanation focuses on the loss of the [[wikt:essential|essential]] while holding on to what is not essential.<ref>{{cite book| title = The World Book dictionary| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KkWR2TV_O8sC&pg=PA146| year = 2003| publisher = World Book, Incorporated| isbn = 978-0-7166-0299-6| page = 146 }}</ref> In other words, the idiom also makes sense when someone might throw out the baby and keep the bath water.<ref>{{cite book| last = Nichols| first = James Oliver| title = Assessment Case Studies: Common Issues in Implementation with Various Campus Approaches to Resolution| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Fp5CbBh0JTgC&pg=PA16| year = 1995| publisher = Agathon Press| isbn = 978-0-87586-112-8| page = 16 }}</ref> Idioms are a common [[wikt:stumbling block|stumbling block]] for learners of a language. ==History== [[File:Murner.Nerrenbeschwerung.kind.jpg|thumb|right|The idiom is pictured in this German book, 1512]] This idiom comes from a German proverb, ''das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten.'' In 1512, ''Narrenbeschwörung'' (''Appeal to Fools'') by Thomas Murner includes a woodcut picture showing a woman tossing a baby out with w