<P> You ca n't have your cake and eat it ( too ) is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech . The proverb literally means `` you can not simultaneously retain your cake and eat it '' . Once the cake is eaten , it is gone . It can be used to say that one can not or should not have or want more than one deserves or is reasonable , or that one can not or should not try to have two incompatible things . The proverb 's meaning is similar to the phrases `` you ca n't have it both ways '' and `` you ca n't have the best of both worlds . '' </P>
<P> You ca n't have your cake and eat it ( too ) is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech . The proverb literally means `` you can not simultaneously retain your cake and eat it '' . Once the cake is eaten , it is gone . It can be used to say that one can not or should not have or want more than one deserves or is reasonable , or that one can not or should not try to have two incompatible things . The proverb 's meaning is similar to the phrases `` you ca n't have it both ways '' and `` you ca n't have the best of both worlds . '' </P>
have your cake and eat it too mean
have your cake and eat it too mean
you can not simultaneously retain your cake and eat it
you can not simultaneously retain your cake and eat it