don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Don't destroy a source of benefit or advantage
Literally: killing a goose that produces golden eggs
Examples
The company should not overwork their best employees, don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs” mean?
Don't destroy a source of benefit or advantage Literally: killing a goose that produces golden eggs
Is “don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.