# Explain "he wants to have his cake and eat it too"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-he-wants-to-have-his-cake-and-eat-it-too/486868>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 21, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-he-wants-to-have-his-cake-and-eat-it-too/486868 "2009-02-21T17:50:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-he-wants-to-have-his-cake-and-eat-it-too/486868/21 "2009-02-22T17:47:39Z")

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Satchel explains it in [today’s Get Fuzzy](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2009-02-22/).

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-he-wants-to-have-his-cake-and-eat-it-too/486868/22 "2009-02-22T18:06:09Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> I was going to post this, but then I realized that if you take it absolutely literally, you can “have a cake and eat it, too”. In fact, having it is a necessary prerequisite for eating it.

What you should be saying in that case is “You can have your cake then eat it” which makes it clear the having occurred before the eating.

If Archie says “I want to marry Betty and Veronica” the assumption is going to be that he’s thinking about polygamy not serial marriage. He should have made his intentions clear by saying “I want to marry Betty then Veronica.”

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