Jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain
Meaning: To discard something valuable while getting rid of what's unwanted.
Language: French
Literally: To throw the baby out with the bathwater
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Traced to a 16th-century German proverb (das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten) warning against carelessly tossing out something precious along with the trash — French and English both borrowed the same image.
More idioms — Daily Life
- pull back the curtain — To expose a hidden truth or reality behind an appearance.
- present company excepted — These remarks do not apply to anyone currently present in this conversation.
- on sufferance — Tolerated reluctantly and only because one has no better choice.
- friend of Bill W. — A recovering alcoholic, especially one in Alcoholics Anonymous.
- wear out one's welcome — To overstay one's time as a guest until one's presence becomes unwelcome or burdensome.
- live in the past — To be preoccupied with previous events and unable to move forward in life.
More French idioms
- C'est l'hôpital qui se fout de la charité — Said when someone criticizes another for a flaw they share themselves; the pot calling th…
- allonger pour le compte — To knock someone out in a boxing match; to fell someone.
- avancer masqué — To act in a hidden or anonymous way, concealing one's intentions or identity.
- passer un savon — To scold or rebuke someone harshly.
- tenir du miracle — To be exceptional or extraordinary; to have a miraculous quality.
- ne pas fermer l’œil de la nuit — To be unable to sleep; to stay awake all night.
From our compliments & insults
- Espèce de patate — You dim bulb — a potato being the very picture of inert, unthinking stodginess.
- Quel râleur / quelle râleuse — You never stop moaning — everything is a complaint, nothing is ever good enough.
- Peau de vache — A mean, difficult, and unpleasant person — tough and unyielding like tanned hide.
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