having one's cake and eating it too
Wanting both outcomes
Having one's cake and eating it too means wanting two incompatible things at once—keeping something while also consuming or using it up.
The phrase captures the impossibility of retaining a benefit while simultaneously enjoying what destroys it: He wants to work part-time but earn a full salary—he wants to have his cake and eat it too.
Often used to criticize someone seeking contradictory outcomes or refusing to accept necessary trade-offs.
- best of both worldsHaving two advantages simultaneously
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
- win-win situationOutcome benefiting all parties
- overindulgenceExcessive consumption or enjoyment
- pie in the skyUnrealistic hope or plan
have it all · too good to be true · moral conflict · catch-22 · delusion · double bind · insatiability · zero-sum game · impracticality · entitlement · selfishness · greedy guts · self-contradiction · pipe dream · idealism · naivety · cognitive dissonance · overambition
having one's cake and eating it toobiting the bullet
Enduring unavoidable hardship
prioritizing · compromise · pragmatism · settling · compromising
having one's cake and eating it tooletting go
Releasing one's grasp
foregoing · relinquishing · renouncing · doing without · self-denial