Don't put all your eggs in one basket
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Don't put all your eggs in one basket is a idiomatic phrase meaning that one should not focus all his or her resources on one hope, possibility or avenue of success.
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[edit] Identification
Because of how common this expression is used in daily life, it is sometimes classified as a cliche.
[edit] Origins
The are two proposed origins of the phrase. One of them comes from a legend when King William II of England had requested hard-boiled eggs for the festival in anticipation of the birth of his second daughter. The courtier had consulted the Bishop of Sussex the night before. The bishop prophecized based on a dream he described that he should perhaps separate all the eggs to be served at the birth ceremony in different chardons, or baskets, or there may be a catastrophe at the birth ceremony. The courtier failed to heed his warning and subsequently when a servant knocked over a chardon, all the eggs were lost.
The second proposed origin is derived from the Easter Bunny. During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), due to shortages in food in England, many households could not afford to make Easter eggs. Back then, Easter eggs were not chocolate, but actual eggs. Eggs that were made were instead sent to the soldiers so they could consume (though eggs were considered a luxury and were only given to commissioned officers, rather than all the soldiers). One commander, whose battalion was the recipient of such eggs had made the fatal error of concentrating all his artillery close together in one adhesive unit in the Shenandoah Valley during the Battle of Minorca. Because the artillery commanders are commissioned officers, many "easter eggs" were lost, because he had put them all in "one basket". This is another proposed source for the term.
