bathwater

[ bath-waw-ter, -wot-er, bahth- ]

/ ˈbæθˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər, ˈbɑθ- /

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noun

water for bathing: He ran the bathwater while he shaved.

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Idioms about bathwater

throw out the baby with the bathwater, to eliminate or reject the good along with the bad.

First recorded in 1910–15; bath¹ + water

Now, in back-to-back rulings, it has rearmed New Yorkers and thrown stare decisis out with the bathwater.
Tracing the Republican Party’s devolution to one man: Newt Gingrich|Christopher Buckley|August 5, 2022|Washington Post
One tenant described having to heat her bathwater on the stove because she couldn’t get anything but cold water from the tap.
What Private Equity Firms Are and How They Operate|by Chris Morran and Daniel Petty|August 3, 2022|ProPublica
Another renter described having to heat her bathwater on the stove after she woke several times to find only cold water flowing from her tap.
When Private Equity Becomes Your Landlord|by Heather Vogell|February 7, 2022|ProPublica
Simply jumping off the boat provided no relief—the surface was like bathwater.
Inhale, Exhale. Sitting with Grief on the Red Sea Floor.|jversteegh|January 10, 2022|Outside Online

“We didn’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, regardless of how dirty it might be,” says Caldwell Pinckney, a Berkeley County councilman.
Big Tech Is Coming to Small-Town America, But There's a Catch|Alana Semuels|August 4, 2021|Time
The first, suggested by the states and business interests challenging the law, takes the baby-with-the-bathwater approach.
Supreme Court Considers Whether to Throw Out Entire Health-Care Law|Ben Jacobs|March 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Will there be some babies thrown out with the bathwater, if you will?
Don't Count Out Moderate Republicans Yet|Samuel P. Jacobs|September 16, 2010|DAILY BEAST
It's also amazing that this dressed-up baby is getting thrown out with its bergamot-scented bathwater.
Why We Despise Sex and the City|Choire Sicha|May 31, 2010|DAILY BEAST
You're never going to be sick in this bit of bathwater, Miss Twinkler?
Christopher and Columbus|Countess Elizabeth Von Arnim