Home › Proverbs

You can't have your cake and eat it too

Meaning: You can't enjoy two mutually exclusive things simultaneously.

Origin: English proverb first recorded in 1538, originally 'eat your cake and have it too.'

Translations

  • French: On ne peut avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre (literally: You can't have the butter and the money for the butter)
  • Spanish: No se puede estar en misa y repicando (literally: You can't be at mass and ringing the bells)
  • Japanese: 二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず (Nito wo ou mono wa itto wo mo ezu) (literally: He who chases two rabbits catches neither)

More proverbs about Wisdom

  • Better safe than sorry — It's wiser to be cautious than to take unnecessary risks.
  • A rose by any other name would smell as sweet — The essence of something doesn't depend on what it's called.
  • Kill two birds with one stone — Accomplish two tasks with a single action.
  • Don't bite off more than you can chew — Don't take on more than you can handle.
  • Every rose has its thorn — Even the best things have their drawbacks.
  • All's well that ends well — A good outcome justifies the difficulties along the way.

← Back to Proverbs

Loading the full interactive collection…