Thread: You can't eat your cake and have it

Can somebody explain me the moral of this proverb? It seems a little pointless to me

It means you can't have everything, using the example of having the cake and eating it, you must choose one or the other, because you won't have it once you've eaten it.

"You can't have your cake and eat it"

I learned it
You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

Originally Posted by chaika

I learned it
You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

too?

Usually it doesn't have the too.

Let them eat cake.

We put in the too here.

Some people say, "You can't eat your cake and have it, too." Which sounds weird to some people I guess, though it's correct and means the same thing.

Originally Posted by BlackMage

We put in the too here.

Some people say, "You can't eat your cake and have it, too." Which sounds weird to some people I guess, though it's correct and means the same thing.

It's

have first, eat second.

I will settle this once and for all:
"You can't have your cake and eat it, too."
That is the final verdict, since I am Grand Imperial Overlord and Almighty Tsar of Canada. If you attempt to contradict me, I will stifle your dissent by invading your country and feeding you to my rabid polar bears. That will be all.

I suspect the Americans added "too" to the end.

Originally Posted by TATY

I suspect the Americans added "too" to the end.

Damn Yankees.

Originally Posted by barmaley

Damn Yankees.

Originally Posted by TATY

I suspect the Americans added "too" to the end.

We'll always be secure in the knowledge that without the USA, you'd be the smallest f****** province in the Russian Empire.

Originally Posted by BlackMage

We'll always be secure in the knowledge that without the USA, you'd be the smallest f****** province in the Russian Empire.

Nah, there'd definitely be a Monaco Soviet Socialist Republic, because the CPSU big-shots would love the riviera...And not only that, but Lichtenstein would be the Chechnya of Europe -- fighting to the death -- all 16 of them! And of course, this is to say nothing of the potential for Yugoslavization of San Marino...

I've never heard this proverb before and it sounds a bit stupid as well.

Thank you for the explanation! I don't like the proverb but I'll remember it for the rest of my life

I've always known it as, "you can't have your cake and eat it, too," so I guess you're right in presuming it's an American thing.

The proverb itself makes sense to me, so I don't hate it or anything, but I can understand that it can sound annoying.

I'm from Canada too but I've always said "You can't have your cake and eat it too".

Also it doesn't make sense to me to say it the other way - "you can't eat your cake and have it, too."

Because you can HAVE cake, without eating it. But you can't EAT it without HAVING it. Unless you're eating imaginary cake...in which case you can do anything you want with it!!

I always imagined this phrase originating when a child asked "May I have some cake?" and was told, "you may have the cake, but you may not eat it."

I can confirm that this is a pretty common proverb in English, so it would be a good one to learn to use. A situation where you would use it would be if you needed both x and y to do something but you could only have one of them. Then you can say "I guess you can't hve your cake and eat it too." Then your friends will shower you with praise for using such marveloud English.

Originally Posted by paulb

I always imagined this phrase originating when a child asked "May I have some cake?" and was told, "you may have the cake, but you may not eat it."

I can confirm that this is a pretty common proverb in English, so it would be a good one to learn to use. A situation where you would use it would be if you needed both x and y to do something but you could only have one of them. Then you can say "I guess you can't hve your cake and eat it too." Then your friends will shower you with praise for using such marveloud English.

I never liked this proverb. I understand what is meant when it is said, but literally it does not make sense to me.