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You can't have your cake and eat it too

Cultural  

  1. The things people want are often incompatible. This proverb is easier to grasp if it is understood to mean “You can't eat your cake and have it too.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge You can’t have your cake and eat it too — not yet.

From The Verge • Jun. 2, 2022

"You can't have your cake and eat it too in politics."

From Reuters • May 6, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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