![]() Īn early recording of the phrase is in a letter on 14 March 1538 from Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, to Thomas Cromwell, as "a man can not have his cake and eat his cake". Ĭhoosing between having or eating a cake illustrates the concept of trade-offs or opportunity cost. ![]() Another, less common, version uses 'keep' instead of 'have'. Indeed, this used to be the most common form of the expression until the 1930s–1940s, when it was overtaken by the have-eat variant. Some find the common form of the proverb to be incorrect or illogical and instead prefer: " You can't eat your cake and have it (too)". The proverb's meaning is similar to the phrases "you can't have it both ways" and "you can't have the best of both worlds."įor those unfamiliar with it, the proverb may sound confusing due to the ambiguity of the word 'have', which can mean 'keep' or 'to have in one's possession', but which can also be used as a synonym for 'eat' (e.g. It can be used to say that one cannot have two incompatible things, or that one should not try to have more than is reasonable. ![]() ![]() The proverb literally means "you cannot simultaneously retain your cake and eat it". You can't have your cake and eat it (too) is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech.
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