今天要給大家介紹的一個俗語是：to throw the baby out with the bath water。To throw the baby out with the bath water從字面上來解釋就是：在潑洗澡水的時候連孩子一起潑掉了。這是很難想象的。但是這個俗語真正表達的是：在扔掉你不要的東西時把寶貴的東西都無意地一起扔掉了。我們舉個例子吧：
"Our company thought they'd be smart and save money by stopping the bonuses they had been giving to the salesmen who sold the most cars each month. Well, they saved a little money, but they threw the baby out with the bath water--our best salesmen quit and went to work for our biggest competitor."
這句話的意思是：“我們公司取銷了給每個月出售汽車最多的推銷員獎金的制度，以為這樣做很明智，可以省錢?？墒?，他們省了一點點錢卻失掉了更有價值的東西，因為我們的推銷員就此不干了，他到和我們競爭最激烈的公司去干了?！?BR> 下面這個例子里的公司主管比較聰敏，他正在考慮要不要解雇那個他不滿意的雇員：
"I'd really like to fire this man tomorrow. But if I fire him, his brother will probably leave with him. His brother is one of our best people, and I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water."
他說：“我可真想明天就把那個人解雇了。但是，要是我解雇他，他的哥哥也許會和他一起走。他哥哥是我們這兒的雇員之一，我可不要因為解雇他弟弟而失去他?！?BR> a bath of blood
浴血; *
"Our company thought they'd be smart and save money by stopping the bonuses they had been giving to the salesmen who sold the most cars each month. Well, they saved a little money, but they threw the baby out with the bath water--our best salesmen quit and went to work for our biggest competitor."
這句話的意思是：“我們公司取銷了給每個月出售汽車最多的推銷員獎金的制度，以為這樣做很明智，可以省錢?？墒?，他們省了一點點錢卻失掉了更有價值的東西，因為我們的推銷員就此不干了，他到和我們競爭最激烈的公司去干了?！?BR> 下面這個例子里的公司主管比較聰敏，他正在考慮要不要解雇那個他不滿意的雇員：
"I'd really like to fire this man tomorrow. But if I fire him, his brother will probably leave with him. His brother is one of our best people, and I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water."
他說：“我可真想明天就把那個人解雇了。但是，要是我解雇他，他的哥哥也許會和他一起走。他哥哥是我們這兒的雇員之一，我可不要因為解雇他弟弟而失去他?！?BR> a bath of blood
浴血; *