One time I baked a whole entire cake for myself. There was no occasion or anything I just wanted to have a cake and eat it too. It turns out cakes are really big and it’s really hard for a single person to eat a cake faster than it turns all spongy and icky.
I wondered about this for years and years, never understanding, especially, since “having cake” and “eating cake” are used interchangeably. But, I finally figured it out! In this sense, the “having” is equivalent to “keeping” or “being in possession of.”
Examples:
“What’s it like having a Mercedes Benz?”
“The Smiths have a very nice home.”
No eating implied!
Therefore, the saying is more inline with “You can’t keep (to show off or admire) your cake, and eat it, too.”
OMG. Came here to say that and it was the first one. I especially hate the way people say this as if the person wanting the “cake” was SO ridiculous
Like, how dare he!
The expression means “you can’t also have the cake in your possession after you’ve eaten it”. It used to be reordered to “You can’t eat your cake and have it too” which makes much more sense. “You can’t have it both ways” expresses the idea without needing an analogy.
“You can’t have your cake and eat it too”. What is the flaming point of having cake if you can’t eat it?
One time I baked a whole entire cake for myself. There was no occasion or anything I just wanted to have a cake and eat it too. It turns out cakes are really big and it’s really hard for a single person to eat a cake faster than it turns all spongy and icky.
I think it suppose to mean that you can’t use the cake as decoration after eating it.
I wondered about this for years and years, never understanding, especially, since “having cake” and “eating cake” are used interchangeably. But, I finally figured it out! In this sense, the “having” is equivalent to “keeping” or “being in possession of.”
Examples:
No eating implied!
Therefore, the saying is more inline with “You can’t keep (to show off or admire) your cake, and eat it, too.”
But you can. Just cut a hole in the bottom and eat it from there. Then it’s presentable and edible.
Ok smartass
/j
OMG. Came here to say that and it was the first one. I especially hate the way people say this as if the person wanting the “cake” was SO ridiculous Like, how dare he!
The expression means “you can’t also have the cake in your possession after you’ve eaten it”. It used to be reordered to “You can’t eat your cake and have it too” which makes much more sense. “You can’t have it both ways” expresses the idea without needing an analogy.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_can’t_have_your_cake_and_eat_it