# What does ‘have your cake and eat it too’ mean?

To “have your cake and eat it too” means to enjoy two mutually exclusive advantages. The proverb is recorded in English from the 16th century in the form 'You cannot eat your cake and have it'; Brewer's includes it as an old English proverb.

## What it means

- The proverb is recorded in English from the 16th century in the form 'You cannot eat your cake and have it'; Brewer's includes it as an old English proverb.

## Action steps

1. Used to point out impossible wishes.
2. Example: You can't quit your job and keep the salary — you can't have your cake and eat it too.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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