eat one's cake and have it, too
Also, have one's cake and eat it, too. Have a dual benefit, consume something and still possess it, as in Doug was engaged to Ann and still dating Jane; he was trying to eat his cake and have it, too. This metaphoric expression is often put negatively, as it already was in John Heywood's proverb collection of 1546: “You cannot eat your cake and have your cake.”
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Nearby words
- eat crow,
- eat high off the hog,
- eat humble pie,
- eat in,
- eat like a bird,
- eat one's hat,
- eat one's heart out,
- eat one's words,
- eat out,
- eat out of someone's hand
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.