baby and bathwater
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to reject something entirely, including its good parts
Literally: discarding a baby along with the bathwater
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
We shouldn't get rid of the whole policy just because one part of it is flawed, we don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “baby and bathwater” mean?
to reject something entirely, including its good parts Literally: discarding a baby along with the bathwater
Is “baby and bathwater” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.