put all your eggs in one basket

put all (one's) eggs in one basket

To invest, devote, or commit all of one's energy or resources into a single venture, opportunity, or goal, generally at the risk of losing everything in the event that that thing fails or does not come to fruition. She has put all her eggs in one basket with this merger deal. If it doesn't work out, I doubt her company can survive. I applied to several colleges so I wasn't putting all my eggs in one basket.
See also: all, basket, egg, one, put
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

put all your eggs in one basket

COMMON If you put all your eggs in one basket, you put all your efforts or resources into one course of action and will not be able to do anything else if this fails. You could argue this is a risky strategy, putting all your eggs in one basket; if the firm goes bust you lose your job and your savings and everything. Don't put your eggs in one basket; study hard at school and always keep an alternative job in mind. Note: People sometimes put other words before eggs and basket to show a particular situation they are talking about. Never put all your investment eggs in one basket. These countries have put their development eggs in the tourism basket, spending millions of dollars from public funds to build the sorts of facilities that foreign tourists demand.
See also: all, basket, egg, one, put
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • have all (one's) eggs in one basket
  • put all (one's) eggs in one basket
  • put all eggs in one basket
  • put all one's eggs in one basket
  • put all your eggs into one basket
  • (one's) day in court
  • ear to the ground, to have/keep an
  • at doorstep
  • at (one's) doorstep
  • at (one's) expense
References in periodicals archive
And when you put all your eggs in one basket you bloody better make sure you don't drop it.
We're bombed out but he's still bombproof; WHAT A BOOT IN THE BOSS; As Michael O'Neill snubs the SFA's offer of LESS cash to take over the Scotland reins and Stewart Regan prepares to ride out the storm, is stay-put Stew turning us into a no-go zone..Bombed out but Stew stays put
While more women are banking on this method, doctors warn that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. Success rates for egg freezing are still small and are based on a variety of factors.
Young Women, Delaying Marriage, Turn To Egg Freezing
My personal favorite is a line from Mark Twain, which I paraphrase as: "The fool says do not put all your eggs in one basket. The wise man says put all your eggs in the basket and then watch that basket" That has always reminded me not to lose focus, which in our attention-deprived world is an essential attribute.
Love in the time of one-liners
NEVER put all your eggs in one basket, as the old saying goes.
NEVER put all your eggs [...]
"If you're going to put all your eggs in one basket, then you're going to want to take care of that egg when it comes out," says paleobiologist F.
Plesiosaur fossil hints at live births: fetus remains suggest that ancient reptiles had big babies
He comments: "We're all familiar with the old saying 'don't put all your eggs in one basket'.
Don't put all your eggs into the same basket; ADVERTISING FEATURE INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVICE
The moral is simple and obvious: don't put all your eggs in one basket. Everyone knows that.
Investment--putting a portfolio together
Buy when prices are low and sell when they are high; don't put all your eggs in one basket and don't expect returns for at least five years.
Time and Money: Money SAVERS
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket and focus on a single stock," he says, citing the examples of Enron and WorldCom.
Financial discovery for all: Melvin Carrington Smith Sr. is opening eyes to financial empowerment. (Black Wealth Initiative)
b) You put all your eggs in one basket. c) You have a heavy basket.
Money: pounds 1,000 of shares waiting for winner of contest; INVESTMENT TRUSTS: What you should know before buying
You don't have to put all your eggs in one basket when dealing with a buyer.
From martial arts to real estate. (Profile of the Week)
The adage "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" cautions against making all family investments in the same asset type or in the same geographical area.
WEALTH MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 2001
Niche marketing doesn't mean you should put all your eggs in one basket. You actually may want to diversify now to ensure your business stays afloat even if one of your products or services is hit by a slowdown.
Slowdown may hurt some businesses, but others will profit
"You want to invest enough to make a difference in your account, but at the same time you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket," Willa says.
Wealth creation
"But you can't put all your eggs in one basket." The Realtors, he said, will continue to generate support throughout the towns and villages.
Suburban groups fighting co-op tenant protections