- Meaning
- This idiom warns against risking everything on a single plan, investment, or opportunity, as if placing all your eggs in one basket makes them vulnerable to a single mishap. It conveys the danger of over-reliance or lack of diversification, often used in financial, professional, or personal contexts to advocate caution and spreading resources to mitigate risk. The phrase carries a tone of prudence, warning, or hindsight, reflecting cultural values of strategic planning and the human tendency to overcommit to one path. It resonates in high-stakes decisions, capturing the peril of betting everything on one outcome, and its agrarian imagery adds a layer of homely wisdom, evoking a farmer’s fragile cargo. The idiom often urges balance or contingency planning, making it a timeless metaphor for managing uncertainty and avoiding catastrophic loss.
- Origin
- The phrase originated in 17th-century England, rooted in rural life where eggs were a valuable commodity, and placing them in one basket risked breaking them all if dropped, a practical concern for farmers. Its earliest recorded use appears in Miguel de Cervantes’ *Don Quixote* (1605, English translation 1612), with the proverb ‘Do not put all your eggs in one basket.’ The idiom gained traction in the 18th century, reflecting mercantile caution, as seen in Samuel Pepys’ diary entries about diversified investments. Its use grew in 19th-century British and American literature, particularly during economic booms and busts, with Mark Twain’s *The Gilded Age* (1873) using it to critique speculative risks. The phrase’s adoption was amplified in the 20th century through financial advice and media, notably in *The Wall Street Journal* during the 1929 crash, emphasizing diversification. Its spread to Commonwealth English came through British influence, and its vivid imagery, evoking fragile eggs, and its applicability to risk management ensured its enduring use across English-speaking cultures, from Wall Street to personal planning.
- Variants
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- Putting all your eggs in one basket
- All your eggs in one basket
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
- Don’t put your eggs in one basket
- Placing your eggs all in one basket
- Examples
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- Don’t put your eggs in one basket, invest in multiple stocks.
- All your eggs in one basket? That’s risky with just one client.
- She put all her eggs in one basket, betting everything on a risky star-tup venture.
- Putting all his eggs in one basket, he foolishly relied solely on that job offer.
- Putting all their eggs in one basket, they stupidly focused on one marketing strategy. It was a mistake they would regret.
- Mother said, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, apply to several different universities. She was right because Cambridge turned me down.
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