You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

So why bother making it?

Wikipedia Commons, credit: Marcus Quagmire— edited by author

There are multiple variations of this one, but the gist goes, “you can’t have your cake and eat it too”, essentially meaning you can’t have both things: there are two options and you must choose one.

People often have a problem with this expression because they take it literally: “why the hell can’t I have my cake and eat it too? Why make it in the first place?” This is a misunderstanding of what the expression means, not helped by the unclear word order. Perhaps a better way to put it would be “to eat you cake and still have it” or “to have a cake for later and still eat it now”.

This isn’t a riddle, but a proverb to advise against rash or hasty decisions, and the consequences you will face. Once you’ve gobbled that cake down, be aware that the cake is no longer going to be there to eat later. Akin to “you can’t have it both ways” (for example, in choosing to leave the European Union, while still wanting to retain all the same benefits that it offers, Britain could certainly be accused of wanting to have their cake and eat it too.)

So, if we can’t have our cake and eat it too, then what are we to do?

History and the Unabomber