having it both ways
Wanting contradictory benefits
Having it both ways means enjoying two benefits that would normally be mutually exclusive, or holding two positions that contradict each other.
The phrase usually carries disapproval—someone wants advantages from incompatible choices without accepting the trade-offs: You can't have it both ways: either you're part of the team or you're not.
Politicians are often accused of trying to have it both ways on controversial issues.
- cherry pickingUsing only favorable examples
- indecisivenessFailure to commit
- power playStrategic leverage attempt
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
contradiction · hypocrisy · duality · pragmatism · triangulation · impression management · double standard · duplicity · opportunism · double-dealing · compromise · moving the goalposts · equivocation · inconsistency · fence-sitting · vacillation · ambivalence · self-interest
having it both wayscommitting
Carrying out an act
deciding · burning bridges · burning one's bridges · going all in · either/or
having it both waysintellectual honesty
Commitment to truth over ego
coherence · consistency · practicing what one preaches · walking the talk · logical consistency