Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

throw the baby out with the bathwater

/θɹoʊ ðə ˈbeɪbi aʊt wɪθ ðə ˈbæθwɔtɚ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.29 in modern English

Syllables
throw the baby out with- the -bath-wa-ter
IPA
/θɹoʊ ðə ˈbeɪbi aʊt wɪθ ðə ˈbæθwɔtɚ/
64
Scrabble Score
31
Letters
5
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To discard, inadvertently or through overzealousness, something valuable or essential ("the baby") in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted or undesirable ("the bathwater").

Example Sentences

Etymology

Calque of German das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten, a proverb first recorded by Thomas Murner in his satire Narrenbeschwörung (1512). First appeared in English when Thomas Carlyle translated it in an essay on slavery (1849).

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /θɹoʊ ðə ˈbeɪbi aʊt wɪθ ðə ˈbæθwɔtɚ/
  • British English: /θɹəʊ ðə ˈbeɪbi aʊt wɪð ðə ˈbɑːθwɔːtə(ɹ)/

Inflected Forms

throws the baby out with the bathwater (present, singular) throwing the baby out with the bathwater (participle, present) threw the baby out with the bathwater (past) thrown the baby out with the bathwater (participle, past) throw the baby out with the bath water (alternative) throw out the baby with the bathwater (alternative) throw out the baby with the bath water (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce throw the baby out with the bathwater?
The recorded pronunciation is /θɹoʊ ðə ˈbeɪbi aʊt wɪθ ðə ˈbæθwɔtɚ/.
What does throw the baby out with the bathwater mean?
To discard, inadvertently or through overzealousness, something valuable or essential ("the baby") in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted or undesirable ("the bathwater").
Where does throw the baby out with the bathwater come from?
Calque of German das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten, a proverb first recorded by Thomas Murner in his satire Narrenbeschwörung (1512). First appeared in English when Thomas Carlyle translated it in an essay on slavery (1849).

How to pronounce throw the baby out with the bathwater

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/θɹoʊ ðə ˈbeɪbi aʊt wɪθ ðə ˈbæθwɔtɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “throw the baby out with the bathwater” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.