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

1. (idiomatic) To seek to have 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: You cannot have your cake and eat it too.

Translations

to seek to have two things which are mutually incompatible

• Alemannic German: de Füfer u's Weggli ha (have the 5p and the roll)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 魚與熊掌不可兼得／鱼与熊掌不可兼得 (zh) (yú yǔ xióngzhǎng bùkě jiān dé), 鱼与熊掌不可兼得 (zh) (yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé) ("One cannot get fish and bear's paw at the same time."), 又要馬兒跑，又要馬兒不吃草／又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草, 又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草 (yòu yào mǎr pǎo, yòu yào mǎr bù chī cǎo) (You want a horse to run, but won't let it graze.)

• 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) (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: (literally "to want both the whole pie and the dog fed") θέλω και την πίτα ολόκληρη και τον σκύλο χορτάτο (thélo kai tin píta olókliri kai ton skýlo chortáto)
• Hungarian: azt akarja, hogy a kecske is jóllakjon, és a káposzta is megmaradjon (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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: é a bheith i do phota agus i do mhála agat (to have it in one’s pot and in one’s bag)
• Italian: avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca (have a full barrel and a drunk wife)
• 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
• 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: (lit.: eat the fish and not choke on its bone) и рыбку съесть, и косточкой не подавиться (i rybku sʺjestʹ, i kostočkoj ne podavitʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: имати (и) овце и новце (imati (i) ovce i novce), имати (и) јаре и паре (imati (i) jare i pare)

  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 (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