have your cake and eat it too

Register · Informal Informal — used in casual, everyday conversation among friends and family. Avoid in formal writing or professional settings. CEFR B2

Post

Figurative meaning

to want two incompatible things at once

Why this phrase?

Once a cake is eaten, it is gone; the phrase mocks wanting to consume something while keeping it intact.

Example

“You can't work abroad and keep the local job — you can't have your cake and eat it too.”

Dictionary details

Component words

cake

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

out of the question Neutral · CEFR B1

completely impossible or not permitted

when pigs fly Informal · CEFR B1

Used to say that something will never happen.

grasp at straws Neutral · CEFR B2

to try desperate, unlikely measures when things are going badly

kill the goose that lays the golden eggs Neutral · CEFR C1

to destroy a reliable source of future profit through greed or short-term thinking

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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