proverb · Words worth keeping
Don't put all your eggs into one basket.
Don't put all your eggs into one basket.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Avoid making everything depend on one uncertain option. Separating your commitments can reduce the damage if a single plan, relationship or resource fails.
Example
A community group keeps a second venue option open instead of arranging every part of its event around one unconfirmed booking.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
If a basket falls, all the eggs inside it may break together. The saying applies that shared vulnerability to choices: several apparently separate benefits can still depend on the same fragile support. Having alternatives can keep one setback from undoing the entire plan. The point is not to pursue every possible option, which can dilute attention and create its own costs. It is to notice where failure would be concentrated and decide whether a realistic backup is worthwhile. Diversifying names alone does little if the alternatives share the same weakness.
When to use it
Use it when a whole plan depends on one point that might fail.
Keep in mind
Alternatives require effort and may share risks; the saying is a principle, not a guarantee of protection.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English