"Jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain."
Translation:Throw the baby out with the bathwater.
14 Comments
My French roommate has not heard the expression before. It's commonly used in German though.
It's originally a German expression dating from the 1500s.
Here's a woodcut illustration from 1512:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/images/throw-out-the-baby-with-the-bathwater.jpg
Oh... I wasn't expecting this. I figured it would be 'throw some bath water to the baby' :( I guess I'm just not into the baby killing thing...
Haha! English is not my native language and I didn't know that expression, but I'm pleased to learn it! :)
Glad to help. Be warned though that the expression (in my opinion) isn't used very often by anyone under the age of 50.
In English it's not used that often by young people either, much like many elaborate phrases, but you want to know them if you read them or hear them said.
I'm 26 and I've heard people my age and younger use it often enough, though I'd agree it is an old cliché.
1007
Isn't the expression " don't throw the baby out with the bath water " It's a dreadful expression either way !
Quoi? Il me semble "lethal." There has to be a different English translation for this. What does it mean?
