have one's cake and eat it too

English

Alternative forms

• eat one's cake and have it too

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

have one's cake and eat it too (third-person singular simple present has one's cake and eats it too, present participle having one's cake and eating it too, simple past had one's cake and ate it too, past participle had one's cake and eaten it too)

1. (idiomatic) To benefit by having two things which are mutually incompatible (such as eating a piece of cake and yet still possessing that piece for future use).

   It's not possible to get your savings and keep the piggy bank intact. You can't have your cake and eat it too!

Usage notes

• This expression is usually found in some form of the proverb: One cannot have one's cake and eat it too.

Translations

to have two things which are mutually incompatible

• Alemannic German: de Füfer u's Weggli ha (literally “have the fivepence and the roll”)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 又要馬兒好，又要馬兒不吃草／又要马儿好，又要马儿不吃草 (yòu yào mǎr hǎo, yòu yào mǎr bù chīcǎo, literally “to want to own a good horse while not feeding it grass”), 魚與熊掌不可兼得／鱼与熊掌不可兼得 (zh) (yú yǔ xióngzhǎng bùkě jiān dé, literally “one cannot have both the fish and the bear’s palm”)

• Danish: man kan ikke både blæse og have mel i munden
• Dutch: het is het een of het ander
• Finnish: syödä ja säästää kakku ("kakkua ei voi syödä ja säästää"), sekä syödä että säästää kakku ("kakkua ei voi sekä syödä että säästää")
• French: avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre (fr) (literally “to have the butter and the money from [selling] the butter”)
• German: auf zwei Hochzeiten gleichzeitig tanzen (literally “to dance at two weddings at the same time”); wasch mich, aber mach mich nicht nass (literally “wash me, but don't get me wet”)
• Greek: θέλω και την πίτα ολόκληρη και τον σκύλο χορτάτο (thélo kai tin píta olókliri kai ton skýlo chortáto, literally “to want both the whole pie and the dog fed”)
• Hindi: दोनों हाथों में लड्डू होना (donõ hāthõ mẽ laḍḍū honā), चित भी मेरी, पट भी मेरी (cit bhī merī, paṭ bhī merī)
• Hungarian: azt akarja, hogy a kecske is jóllakjon, és a káposzta is megmaradjon (literally “he wants to make the goat full and save the cabbage as well”)
• Icelandic: ekki verður bæði sleppt og haldið, bæði sleppa og halda, bæði halda og sleppa
• Irish: é a bheith i do phota agus i do mhála agat (literally “to have it in one’s pot and in one’s bag”)
• Italian: avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca (literally “have a full barrel and a drunk wife”)
• Maltese: riedha ħobla u tredda’ (literally “to want her pregnant while she’s breastfeeding”)
• Persian: هم خدا را خواستن و هم خرما را (ham xodâ râ xâstan va ham xormâ râ), هم خرو خواستن هم خرما (ham xar-o xâstan ham xormâ) (colloquially)
• Polish: zjeść ciastko i mieć ciastko, albo rybki, albo akwarium (pl), albo rybka, albo pipka (pl)
• Portuguese: ter sol na eira e chuva no nabal, querer sol na eira e chuva no nabal
• Romanian: și cu buzele unse, și cu slănina în pod, și cu burta plină, și cu slănina în pod
• Russian: и рыбку съесть, и косточкой не подавиться (i rybku sʺjestʹ, i kostočkoj ne podavitʹsja, literally “eat the fish and not choke on its bone”)
• Scottish Gaelic: chan fhaodar a' bhò a reic 's a bainne òl (literally “one cannot sell the cow and drink its milk”)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: имати (и) овце и новце, имати (и) јаре и паре

  Roman: imati (i) ovce i novce, imati (i) jare i pare

• Spanish: estar a la vez en la procesión y repicando las campanas, querer el oro y el moro (es), nadar y tener la ropa, estar en misa y repicando, soplar y sorber, no puede ser (es)
• Welsh: cadw torth a'i bwyta hi (literally “to keep a loaf and eat it”)

See also

• best of both worlds
• butter one's bread on both sides
• cakeism
• have it both ways
• judge, jury and executioner
• run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
• suck and blow

Anagrams

• eat one's cake and have it too