{"id":3307,"date":"2022-05-05T21:15:56","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T21:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3307"},"modified":"2022-05-05T21:15:56","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T21:15:56","slug":"you-cant-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/you-cant-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can\u2019t Have Your Cake &#038; Eat It Too \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone that they have to make a hard choice? If so, you could use \u201c<em>you can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too<\/em>.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The meaning of \u201c<em>you can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too<\/em>\u201d refers to choosing between two options. Typically, these options are in contradiction to each other. For example, you want to go to a monster truck rally, but you have to study for an exam.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You can only pick one of the options, leaving the other behind. Typically, one offers gratification and short-term reward, while the other is more challenging, offering long-term rewards.<\/p>\n<p>Choosing between the two is tough for the person, and they need to assess which choice offers them the best reward at the moment.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI know you want to enjoy your weekend with your friends. But if you want to earn money to go out with them, you\u2019ll have to get a weekend job. I\u2019m not paying for your fun. You can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too, son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted an affordable car, with luxury features and a powerful motor. The sales rep told me that that\u2019s not possible. I\u2019ll have to spend more money to get what I want. Oh well, I suppose I can\u2019t have my cake and eat it too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, you want to do well on your exams, but you want to go out partying on the weekend. It\u2019s either one or the other, Sandra. You can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too. Do you want to party or go to college? It\u2019s your call.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3308\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/You-cant-have-Your-Cake-and-Eat-it-Too.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"187\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/You-cant-have-Your-Cake-and-Eat-it-Too.jpg 187w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/You-cant-have-Your-Cake-and-Eat-it-Too-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/You-cant-have-Your-Cake-and-Eat-it-Too-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 187px) 100vw, 187px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3309\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/You-cant-have-Your-Cake-and-Eat-it-Too2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"156\" height=\"186\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the expression, \u201cYou can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too,\u201d comes from the glossary \u201cA Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe tongue\u201d compiled and written by John Heywood in 1546, where it appears as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWolde ye bothe eate your cake, and haue your cake?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The phrase also appears in other works during the Tudor dynasty in England during the 1600s. \u201cThe Scourge of Folly,\u201d written by John Davies in 1611, is the earliest and closest origin to the modern phrase, where it appears as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA man cannot eat his cake and haue it still.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&quot;You Can&#039;t Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too&quot; Idiom Meaning, Origin &amp; History | Superduper English\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0pzjFq6ohQA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>You can\u2019t have the best of both worlds.<\/li>\n<li>You cannot have it both ways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>You can have your cake and eat it too.<\/li>\n<li>The world is your oyster.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>You can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say You It Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>Some people will use the phrase \u201cyou can have your cake and eat it too.\u201d This saying goes against the original meaning of the proverb.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase It<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the expression \u201cyou can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too\u201d When you\u2019re telling someone that they have to choose between two options where both seem appealing.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a way of telling them that we don\u2019t always get what we want in life, and sometimes we have to make tough decisions and sacrifice.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase suits professional and social use. You could use it at home to tell your kids that they can only choose one birthday present. Or you could use it at work to tell someone that they got the result they wanted, at the cost of a minor discrepancy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone that they have to make a hard choice? If so, you could use \u201cyou can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The meaning of \u201cyou can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too\u201d refers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3307"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3332,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3307\/revisions\/3332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}