burn not your house to fright the mouse away
burn not your house to fright the mouse away
proverb Do not overreact to a minor problem by taking drastic measures. It's just a minor leak—we don't need to tear open the kitchen to fix it. Burn not your house to fright the mouse away.
See also: away, burn, fright, house, mouse, not
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
Burn not your house to fright the mouse away.
Prov. Do not do something drastic when it is not necessary. Ellen: I don't like the shape of my nose; I think I'll have surgery to make it look better. Jane: But you can make your nose look better just by using different makeup. Don't burn your house to fright the mouse away. When someone pointed out a small flaw in Bob's latest painting, Bob wanted to tear the whole painting to shreds. "Now, now, Bob," his friends said, "burn not your house to fright the mouse away."
See also: away, burn, fright, house, mouse, not
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
- fright
- touch up
- booboo
- boo-boo
- make (something) out of nothing
- make out of nothing
- a little fire is quickly trodden out
- crime
- crime does not pay
- crime doesn't pay