have one's cake and eat it too

== English == === Alternative forms === eat one's cake and have it too === Pronunciation === === Verb === have one's cake and eat it too (third-person singular simple present has one's cake and eats it too, present participle having one's cake and eating it too, simple past had one's cake and ate it too, past participle had one's cake and eaten it too) (idiomatic) To benefit by having two things which are mutually incompatible (such as eating a piece of cake and yet still possessing that piece for future use). ==== Usage notes ==== This expression is usually found in some form of the proverb: One cannot have one's cake and eat it too. ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== best of both worlds butter one's bread on both sides cakeism have it both ways run with the hare and hunt with the hounds suck and blow === Anagrams === eat one's cake and have it too