阿甘的美國大冒險

 瘋狂英語教室-美國人這樣說
LESSON 217 第二百一十七課
can't have one's cake and eat it

can't have one's cake and eat it (too)

Definiton: You can't have it both ways; you can't have the best of both worlds  你不能兩個都有; 魚與熊掌不可兼得

Example 1:  You can't have your cake and eat it, too.  It's impossible to live in the city and reside at a hosue with a big yard.  魚與熊掌無法兼得, 你不可能住在市區卻住在一棟有大院子的房屋。

Example 2:  Jake plans to get a graduate degree in one year while working full-time.  Soon he will learn that he can't have his cake and eat it.  Jake 想要在一年內拿到研究所學位, 同時全職工作。很快他就會學到魚與熊掌不能兼得。

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這個用法乍看之下有點無厘頭, 有點難懂。但如果你把句子順序顛倒, 就突然很容易理解了。

顛倒過來是這樣子: can't eat the cake and have it, 意思是蛋糕吃掉就沒了, 你不可能吃掉蛋糕又同時擁有它。

用蛋糕來比喻, 讓人越看越想去買蛋糕吃。