killing the goose that lays the golden eggs
Destroying profitable source
Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs means destroying a reliable source of wealth or benefit through greed or shortsightedness.
The phrase comes from Aesop's fable about a farmer who, impatient with receiving one golden egg at a time, slaughters his magical goose expecting to find gold inside, only to discover it's an ordinary bird.
It applies whenever someone sacrifices long-term gains for immediate reward: Cutting the research budget would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
- proverbial wisdomKnowledge in traditional sayings
- instant gratificationSatisfaction without delay
- avariceExcessive desire for riches
- resource depletionExhausting available materials gradually
- impatienceIntolerance of delay
self-sabotage · burning bridges · cash cow · regret · fable · mismanagement · overexploitation · myopia · selfishness · unintended consequences · financial ruin · Aesop · economic collapse · opportunism · cautionary tale · moral tales · failure · idiom
killing the goose that lays the golden eggsdelayed gratification
Postponing pleasure for benefit
sustainable harvesting · long-term thinking · thinking ahead · long-term planning · sustainable growth
killing the goose that lays the golden eggssustainable harvesting
Resource collection preserving future availability
killing the goose that lays the golden eggsprudence
Careful, wise judgment