See have one's cake and eat it too in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for have one's cake and eat it too meaning in English (10.5kB)
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "has one's cake and eats it too",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "having one's cake and eating it too",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "had one's cake and ate it too",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "had one's cake and eaten it too",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "have<has,,had> one's cake and eat<,,ate,eaten> it too"
},
"expansion": "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)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English predicates",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"parents": [
"Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms with placeholder \"it\"",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Hindi terms with redundant transliterations",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant transliterations",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant transliterations",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "It's not possible to get your savings and keep the piggy bank intact. You can't have your cake and eat it too!",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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)."
],
"id": "en-have_one's_cake_and_eat_it_too-en-verb-ByNl7Npe",
"links": [
[
"benefit",
"benefit"
],
[
"mutually",
"mutually"
],
[
"incompatible",
"incompatible"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(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)."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "best of both worlds"
},
{
"word": "butter one's bread on both sides"
},
{
"word": "cakeism"
},
{
"word": "have it both ways"
},
{
"word": "judge, jury and executioner"
},
{
"word": "run with the hare and hunt with the hounds"
},
{
"word": "suck and blow"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "eat one's cake and have it too"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "gsw",
"lang": "Alemannic German",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "de Füfer u's Weggli ha"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "又要馬兒好，又要馬兒不吃草"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "又要马儿好"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"note": "又要马儿不吃草 (yòu yào mǎr hǎo, yòu yào mǎr bù chīcǎo, literally “to want to own a good horse while not feeding it grass”)",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "魚與熊掌不可兼得"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"note": "鱼与熊掌不可兼得 (yú yǔ xióngzhǎng bùkě jiān dé, literally “one cannot have both the fish and the bear’s palm”)",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "man kan ikke både blæse og have mel i munden"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "het is het een of het ander"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "syödä ja säästää kakku (kakkua ei voi syödä ja säästää)"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "sekä syödä että säästää kakku (kakkua ei voi sekä syödä että säästää)"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "auf zwei Hochzeiten gleichzeitig tanzen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "wasch mich, aber mach mich nicht nass"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"note": "θέλω και την πίτα ολόκληρη και τον σκύλο χορτάτο (thélo kai tin píta olókliri kai ton skýlo chortáto, literally “to want both the whole pie and the dog fed”)",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible"
},
{
"code": "hi",
"lang": "Hindi",
"roman": "donõ hāthõ mẽ laḍḍū honā",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "दोनों हाथों में लड्डू होना"
},
{
"code": "hi",
"lang": "Hindi",
"roman": "cit bhī merī, paṭ bhī merī",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "चित भी मेरी, पट भी मेरी"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "azt akarja, hogy a kecske is jóllakjon, és a káposzta is megmaradjon"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "ekki verður bæði sleppt og haldið"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "bæði sleppa og halda"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "bæði halda og sleppa"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "é a bheith i do phota agus i do mhála agat"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca"
},
{
"code": "mt",
"lang": "Maltese",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "riedha ħobla u tredda’"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "ham xodâ râ xâstan va ham xormâ râ",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "هم خدا را خواستن و هم خرما را"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "ham xar-o xâstan ham xormâ",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"colloquial"
],
"word": "هم خرو خواستن هم خرما"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "zjeść ciastko i mieć ciastko"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "albo rybki, albo akwarium"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "albo rybka, albo pipka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "ter sol na eira e chuva no nabal"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "querer sol na eira e chuva no nabal"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "și cu buzele unse, și cu slănina în pod"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "și cu burta plină, și cu slănina în pod"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "и рыбку съесть, и косточкой не подавиться (i rybku sʺjestʹ, i kostočkoj ne podavitʹsja, literally “eat the fish and not choke on its bone”)",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "chan fhaodar a' bhò a reic 's a bainne òl"
},
{
"alt": "и",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "имати овце и новце"
},
{
"alt": "и",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "имати јаре и паре"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "imati ovce i novce (i)"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "imati jare i pare (i)"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "estar a la vez en la procesión y repicando las campanas"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "querer el oro y el moro"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "nadar y tener la ropa"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "estar en misa y repicando"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "soplar y sorber, no puede ser"
},
{
"code": "cy",
"lang": "Welsh",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "cadw torth a'i bwyta hi"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Have one's cake and eat it too"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-have one's cake and eat it too.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8c/En-au-have_one%27s_cake_and_eat_it_too.ogg/En-au-have_one%27s_cake_and_eat_it_too.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/En-au-have_one%27s_cake_and_eat_it_too.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "have one's cake and eat it too"
}
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "has one's cake and eats it too",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "having one's cake and eating it too",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "had one's cake and ate it too",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "had one's cake and eaten it too",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "have<has,,had> one's cake and eat<,,ate,eaten> it too"
},
"expansion": "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)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "best of both worlds"
},
{
"word": "butter one's bread on both sides"
},
{
"word": "cakeism"
},
{
"word": "have it both ways"
},
{
"word": "judge, jury and executioner"
},
{
"word": "run with the hare and hunt with the hounds"
},
{
"word": "suck and blow"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English predicates",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"English terms with placeholder \"it\"",
"English terms with usage examples",
"English verbs",
"Hindi terms with redundant transliterations",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "It's not possible to get your savings and keep the piggy bank intact. You can't have your cake and eat it too!",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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)."
],
"links": [
[
"benefit",
"benefit"
],
[
"mutually",
"mutually"
],
[
"incompatible",
"incompatible"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(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)."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"wikipedia": [
"Have one's cake and eat it too"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-have one's cake and eat it too.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8c/En-au-have_one%27s_cake_and_eat_it_too.ogg/En-au-have_one%27s_cake_and_eat_it_too.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/En-au-have_one%27s_cake_and_eat_it_too.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "eat one's cake and have it too"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "gsw",
"lang": "Alemannic German",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "de Füfer u's Weggli ha"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "又要馬兒好，又要馬兒不吃草"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "又要马儿好"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"note": "又要马儿不吃草 (yòu yào mǎr hǎo, yòu yào mǎr bù chīcǎo, literally “to want to own a good horse while not feeding it grass”)",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "魚與熊掌不可兼得"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"note": "鱼与熊掌不可兼得 (yú yǔ xióngzhǎng bùkě jiān dé, literally “one cannot have both the fish and the bear’s palm”)",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "man kan ikke både blæse og have mel i munden"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "het is het een of het ander"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "syödä ja säästää kakku (kakkua ei voi syödä ja säästää)"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "sekä syödä että säästää kakku (kakkua ei voi sekä syödä että säästää)"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "auf zwei Hochzeiten gleichzeitig tanzen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "wasch mich, aber mach mich nicht nass"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"note": "θέλω και την πίτα ολόκληρη και τον σκύλο χορτάτο (thélo kai tin píta olókliri kai ton skýlo chortáto, literally “to want both the whole pie and the dog fed”)",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible"
},
{
"code": "hi",
"lang": "Hindi",
"roman": "donõ hāthõ mẽ laḍḍū honā",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "दोनों हाथों में लड्डू होना"
},
{
"code": "hi",
"lang": "Hindi",
"roman": "cit bhī merī, paṭ bhī merī",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "चित भी मेरी, पट भी मेरी"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "azt akarja, hogy a kecske is jóllakjon, és a káposzta is megmaradjon"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "ekki verður bæði sleppt og haldið"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "bæði sleppa og halda"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "bæði halda og sleppa"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "é a bheith i do phota agus i do mhála agat"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca"
},
{
"code": "mt",
"lang": "Maltese",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "riedha ħobla u tredda’"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "ham xodâ râ xâstan va ham xormâ râ",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "هم خدا را خواستن و هم خرما را"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "ham xar-o xâstan ham xormâ",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"colloquial"
],
"word": "هم خرو خواستن هم خرما"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "zjeść ciastko i mieć ciastko"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "albo rybki, albo akwarium"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "albo rybka, albo pipka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "ter sol na eira e chuva no nabal"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "querer sol na eira e chuva no nabal"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "și cu buzele unse, și cu slănina în pod"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "și cu burta plină, și cu slănina în pod"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "и рыбку съесть, и косточкой не подавиться (i rybku sʺjestʹ, i kostočkoj ne podavitʹsja, literally “eat the fish and not choke on its bone”)",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "chan fhaodar a' bhò a reic 's a bainne òl"
},
{
"alt": "и",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "имати овце и новце"
},
{
"alt": "и",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "имати јаре и паре"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "imati ovce i novce (i)"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "imati jare i pare (i)"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "estar a la vez en la procesión y repicando las campanas"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "querer el oro y el moro"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "nadar y tener la ropa"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "estar en misa y repicando"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "soplar y sorber, no puede ser"
},
{
"code": "cy",
"lang": "Welsh",
"sense": "to have two things which are mutually incompatible",
"word": "cadw torth a'i bwyta hi"
}
],
"word": "have one's cake and eat it too"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.