all your eggs in one basket
Meaning
Relying on a single plan, investment, or option so that if it fails you lose everything.
Origin
From the practical risk that if you carry many eggs in one basket and drop it, they all break. The proverb is often linked to Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote (early 1600s) in a similar form.
Notes
Often used as advice about diversification (money, plans, careers). It warns about concentrated risk; usually cautionary rather than insulting.
Examples
-
I’m applying to a few schools because I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket.
-
We invested in several startups instead of putting all our eggs in one basket.
-
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by relying on a single client for all your revenue.
-
She started freelancing on the side so she wouldn’t have all her eggs in one basket at her current job.
-
If your backup plan is the same as your main plan, you’re basically keeping all your eggs in one basket.
Grammar & Usage Notes
Usually appears as “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The structure is fairly fixed; plural “eggs” and “one basket” are standard. Can be used as a noun phrase (“all-my-eggs-in-one-basket strategy”).
Synonyms
- put all your eggs in one basket
- bet the farm
- go all in
- stake everything on one thing
Antonyms
- diversify
- spread your risk
- hedge your bets