Have Your Cake And Eat It Too
Proverbs are interesting in that, with just a few words, we get a glimpse of a culture’s viewpoint, experience, and wit. Most of the time they are enlightening and remind us of beliefs (hopefully wise) that have been passed down from generation to generation.
But there are some proverbs that are a bit confusing. For example, I have a hard time with: ”you want to have your cake and eat it too.” Well, let’s see, if I have a cake, then chances are that I want to eat it. This becomes especially true if it’s a chocolate cake.
I think that this proverb would make more sense if we said:
- “You want to eat your cake, and still have it,” or
- “You want to eat your cake, and keep it.” Or for those more mathematically inclined,
- ”You want to eat all portions of your cake, and still have a whole one left over.”
Ok, but this is getting a bit too complicated. I vote for the simplicity of: “Two heads are better than one” (even though, it really depends on whose heads we are talking about), and ”Look before you leap.” These 2 proverbs could not be more straightforward and, furthermore, are filled with great advice.
Do you know any proverbs that make you scratch your head?
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Hi again,
There’s an old saying in Australia: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.
I never understood this one as I was growing up… although, you don’t often hear this much anymore in everyday conversation.
I guess it’s a generational thing, more a phrase (still) used by baby boomers, rather than gen x or gen y. Still, quaint and amusing, not sure if you have heard it used often in USA.
See link for origins/history etc… I didn’t even realize that it originated from the UK until just now. Language: amazing ;o) *W
http://goo.gl/gOpEf
Yes, I had heard this one and understood it. But I can see why it would be harder for a child to understand. I guess gen x or gen y get their birds at the grocery store or at KFC. Baby boomers have heard so many stories about “back in the old days” that they can still identify with it. Language is funny and amazing. Thank you for sharing.
just a piece of trivia: toni morrison used this proverb in her acceptance speech for the nobel prize for literature, thus breathing new life into it in the U.S., i think.
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I did not know that. Thanks for this interesting piece of information.