# What does let them eat cake mean **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492 "2015-09-16T17:55:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/1 "2015-09-16T17:55:32Z")
Supposedly Marie antionette didn’t say it, but is there consensus of the meaning? I’ve heard several interpretations. It showed she was out of touch and didn’t understand that the poor didn’t have cake. She meant it as a blowoff because she knew they didn’t have cake, it was sarcasm. Bakers at the time had to sell cake as an alternative if bread wasn’t available, it was legitimate advice. Cake is a metaphor for shit, she was blowing them off. Cake is a metaphor for another food the poor had access to, but I forget which. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/2 "2015-09-16T17:58:12Z")
I have always heard it used as a snide remark, such as saying you don’t have a car and someone responding then go by private jet! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/3 "2015-09-16T17:59:06Z")
Given the variety of theories, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/4 "2015-09-16T18:10:16Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Supposedly Marie antionette didn’t say it, but is there consensus of the meaning? I’ve heard several interpretations. > > \ > > She meant it as a blowoff because she knew they didn’t have cake, it was sarcasm. This is the one. The line is delivered as to generate a laugh from fellow aristocrats . Basically, it means ‘Fuck the poor. It’s their own fault for being so poor’. Cecil’s take: > **[Did Marie Antoinette really say “let them eat cake”?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341715/did-marie-antoinette-really-say-let-them-eat-cake)** ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/5 "2015-09-16T18:19:10Z")
There have been a number of studies and as I understand it, the consensus is that she did no say that or anything like it. It was simply used to discredit her. As to what it means today - yeah - stuff em, let em fend for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/6 "2015-09-16T18:30:09Z")
Let me just add that it wasn’t cake; it was brioche: “Qu’il mange de la brioche”. But it was probably intended to show her disdain for the people, or claim that didn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/7 "2015-09-16T18:40:55Z")
I’ve always heard the phrase as indicating a massive disconnect between the aristocracy and the poor, i.e. the ditzy princess who said it simply couldn’t comprehend the idea of anyone having no food at all to eat. It’s similar to saying, “What, they’re out of Big Macs? Why not have a Filet-O-Fish instead?” while oblivious to the fact that the McDonalds has in fact burned down. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/8 "2015-09-16T19:05:55Z")
The OP’s not clear on whether he means what the phrase means now or what message it was intended to give when the false rumor was first spread about her having said it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/9 "2015-09-16T22:15:03Z")
There’s another excuse I’ve heard for it–that it was her being generous, saying that she would give the more expensive cake–perhaps from her own baker–to the poor since they didn’t have bread. But the original meaning, as far as I can tell, is that she’s so out of touch with the poor that she didn’t realize that the poor didn’t have cake. And, yes, while that implies the poor and their plight didn’t matter to her, I don’t think they were accusing her of being deliberately callous. Especially since the previous versions all seem to focus on naivete. It’s always some rich person who doesn’t understand why poor people aren’t eating just because they don’t have one thing. The version used to call them cruel is “Let them eat hay.” You know, like cattle. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/10 "2015-09-16T23:55:49Z")
A [previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=616993&highlight=marie) which might help. Poster **Tammi Terrell** is our resident expert on the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/11 "2015-09-17T05:12:11Z")
The first time I ever heard or read of this alleged quote (many years ago), the wording was “Let them eat grass.” If the statement (whether real or merely alleged) was meant to indicate disdain toward the poor, or whatever it was supposed to mean, this version works _much_ better! ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/12 "2015-09-19T01:47:01Z")
Or possibly, “Sacré bleu! We’re out of pie!” ---
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-let-them-eat-cake-mean/731492/13 "2015-09-19T16:57:54Z")
Another (but similar) interpretation would that that woman has simply lost her touch with reality. Being in her own rich aristocrat world, that is. This is also somewhat common thinking in upper management and similar positions in this days. Jees. Guys, go down and try to mingle with forklift drivers. Simple cure.