Have your cake and eat it

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Meaning

Wanting it all, keeping and using.

Origin

From 16th-century England, tied to proverbs; 'can't have cake and eat it,' flipped by 1546 in Heywood for greed. A 1633 letter uses it for a dual wish.

Variants

  • Cake and eat

Usage Examples

  • He wants his cake and eat it; job and play!
  • You can't have your cake and eat it-choose.
  • She's got her cake and eats it-lucky!

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