kill the goose that lays the golden eggs



kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

Destroy a source of riches through stupidity or greed, as in If he never gives his loyal customers a break on some items in his store, he'll kill the goose that lays the golden eggs . This expression, already a proverb in the late 1400s, alludes to Aesop's fable about a farmer whose goose lays one golden egg a day, and who kills the goose in the mistaken belief that he'll get all the eggs at once.
See also: egg, golden, goose, kill, lay

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
HumphryHUM-freeEnglish (Rare)
TopsyTAHP-seeEnglish (Rare)
Adonisə-DAH-nəs (English), ə-DO-nəs (English)Greek Mythology
Kajus-Lithuanian
JoŽIca-Slovene, Croatian
Siavash-Persian, Persian Mythology