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general::
Phrase(s): throw the baby out with the bath(water)
Fig. to dispose of the good while eagerly trying to get rid of the bad. (Fig. on the image of carelessly emptying a tub of both the water inside as well as the baby that was being washed.) • In her haste to talk down a project that had only a few disagreeable points, she has thrown the baby out with the bathwater. • Hasty action on this major spending bill will result in throwing out the baby with the bath.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs