Question

Kill the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs to spoil or destroy something good out of stupidity, greed, or impatience

Accepted Answer

Don't be obnoxious to Aunt Ruthie when she gives you money. You'll kill the goose that lays the golden egg. There's a fable by Aesop about a farmer who owns a goose that lays one golden egg at a time. The greedy farmer becomes impatient and kills the goose so he can get all the eggs that are in the goose at once. Of course, a dead goose can't lay anymore eggs, as the foolish farmer soon finds out. In 15th-century England, the plot of this well-known story helped create the famous phrase, "kill the goose that laid the golden eggs."

Idiom	Kill the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs
Example	Don't be obnoxious to Aunt Ruthie when she gives you money. You'll kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
Meaning	to spoil or destroy something good out of stupidity, greed, or impatience
Origin	There's a fable by Aesop about a farmer who owns a goose that lays one golden egg at a time. The greedy farmer becomes impatient and kills the goose so he can get all the eggs that are in the goose at once. Of course, a dead goose can't lay anymore eggs, as the foolish farmer soon finds out. In 15th-century England, the plot of this well-known story helped create the famous phrase, "kill the goose that laid the golden eggs."

Goose Golden Lays Farmer Kill Eggs Obnoxious Aunt