IdiomFood & Drink
English
Englishhave one's cake and eat it too
Meaning: To want two things that cannot both be had.
Example: “You want a pay raise and a four-day week? You can't have your cake and eat it too.”
Origin: Already a saying in 1538, when the Duke of Norfolk wrote to Thomas Cromwell that "a man can not have his cake and eat his cake." John Heywood's proverb collection of 1546 put it the other way around — "wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?" — which makes the logic plainer: once it is eaten, it is gone.
Equivalents in other languages
French: Avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre Literally: To have the butter and the money for the butter
Italian: Avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca Literally: To have the barrel full and the wife drunk
More English idioms
- muddy the waters To make a situation confusing, often on purpose.
- be bone idle To be extremely lazy.
- like pulling teeth Extremely difficult, especially when trying to get someone to cooperate.
- have the wind in one's sails To be doing well and moving forward with confidence and momentum.
- put one's foot in it To say something tactless or embarrassing.
- talk behind someone's back To say unkind things about someone when they are not present.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.
Keep exploring