

Why Do Writers Use “You can’t have your cake and eat it too?” This business decision is exactly like trying to decide between having your cake and eating it.I don’t want to choose between having my cake or eating it.Talk about waiting until the last minute to decide whether to have cake or eat it. You know you can’t have your cake and eat it too. You’re going to have to decide sooner or later what you want to do.For example, the proverb may not be suited for business meetings, academic papers, etc. This means that it may not be appropriate for all occasions. It’s easy to see this phrase exchanged between friends, family members, and even close colleagues. Someone might use the phrase to remind a friend that they need to go ahead and make a decision, as there’s no way to maintain both sides of an option. This will mean that you lose out on the experience of eating it. But, if you decide to “have” or keep the cake, you’ll be able to take comfort in the fact that you still own it. For instance, if you decide to eat your cake, you’ll have the pleasure of that experience, but you’ll no longer possess a cake. When making a decision between two options, you’re always going to lose something in the process. It’s an interesting way to remind someone that it’s impossible to have the best of both worlds. It’s possible to use “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” in a wide variety of situations.

When considering this reversed version, one is faced with the same type of dilemma, but it makes slightly more sense to consider eating a cake and still having it afterward. So, saying, “You can’t eat your cake and have it too.” The eat/have arrangement makes more sense for some. Interestingly, some writers and scholars believe that reversing the proverb entirely means that it makes more sense. The proverb makes more sense if the word “have” is replaced with “keep.” So, “You can’t keep your cake and eat it too.” Someone can’t eat a cake while at the same time retaining the cake for the future or for one’s pleasure. The metaphor of cake is used as a way to convey the impossibility. It reminds the listener that it’s impossible to keep something while also utilizing it at the same time. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” is a proverb that is used when someone wants to convey a specific message.
