have one's cake and eat it too
Greedy impossible wish
To have one's cake and eat it too is to want two incompatible things at once—to enjoy a benefit while also retaining what must be given up to get it.
The logic: once you eat the cake, you no longer have it.
He wants to retire early but keep his executive salary—you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Often shortened to have it both ways.
- proverbial wisdomKnowledge in traditional sayings
- ambivalenceConflicting emotions coexisting
- trade-offsSacrifices for gains
- selfishnessExcessive concern for oneself
- contradictionOpposing claims, incompatible together
wishful thinking · pie in the sky · figure of speech · colloquialism · cost-benefit analysis · rationalization · duality · aphorism · mutually exclusive · cognitive dissonance · entitlement · overindulgence · dilemmas · metaphor · prioritization · consequences · win-win situation · cherry picking
have one's cake and eat it toopick one
either-or · bite the bullet · take the bitter with the sweet · zero-sum · opportunity cost
have one's cake and eat it toocome down to earth
Become practical after fantasizing
have one's cake and eat it toosettle for less
moderation · enough is enough · count your blessings · temperance · restraint