Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket is one of a surprising number of idioms that refer to eggs.

This particular idiom is a warning not to focus all your resources or energy into one thing. The danger being that if it goes wrong you have no alternative.

Here are some examples of how it might be used:

• Spread your investments across a number of companies – you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket.
• I’m not going to put all my eggs into one basket. If something goes wrong in this job, I’ll need something else to fall back on.
• It’s always a good idea to have a range of skills so that you don’t put all your eggs into one basket.

Some other ways of saying the same sort of thing include:

• Diversify.
• Try your luck.
• Don’t bet the farm.
• Spread your wings.
• Widen your horizons.
• Take a gamble.
• Be adventurous

Other idioms that mention eggs include:

• To over-egg the cake – meaning to exaggerate.
• As sure as eggs is eggs – meaning completely certain.
• You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs – meaning that to be successful you often have to upset someone.
• To have egg on one’s face – meaning to be embarrassed or humiliated.
• A bad egg – meaning that someone is a bad or unreliable person.
• A good egg – meaning that someone is a good or reliable person.
• It’s no use crying over broken eggs – meaning that when something goes wrong you should get over it and focus on something else.

_{Posted by Graham}