One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs.[1] This idomatic expression, meaning it is difficult to achieve something important without causing any unpleasant side-effects, has been my lifelong mantra.

And, as one can see in the edit history of my English Wikipedia User page... even uttering the phase on Wikipedia will get you a "speedy deletion warning"!

References edit

  1. Originated in French (on ne saurait faire d'omelette sans casser des œufs) as early as the 1740s and made its way from there into English. (According to Mike Vuolo, Slate.com)