CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

Meaning of CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS in English

you have to choose one or the other; cannot have your cake and eat it, too

When children are allowed to make choices, they learn that they can't have it both ways.

Wayne Magnuson. English idioms vocabulary. Словарь английских идиом. 2012

CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS — "you have to choose one or the other; cannot have your cake..." When children are allowed to make choices, they …
English Idioms vocab
IT
Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary
HAVE
Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary
CAN — I. modal verb COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a beer bottle/can (= a bottle/can for beer ) ▪ Empty beer cans …
Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary
BOTH — ambi. BOTH - AND -: é ... é
English interlingue dictionary
WAYS — noun plural but singular in construction Etymology: Middle English wayes, from genitive of 1way Date: 1580 way 6
Толковый словарь английского языка - Merriam Webster
-WAYS — adverb suffix Etymology: Middle English, from ways, genitive of way in (such) a way, course, direction, or manner
Толковый словарь английского языка - Merriam Webster
WAYS — I. plural of way present third singular of way II. ˈwāz noun plural but singular in construction Etymology: Middle English …
Webster's New International English Dictionary
T — I. ˈtē noun ( plural t's or ts ˈtēz) Usage: often capitalized, often attributive 1. a. : the 20th letter …
Webster's New International English Dictionary
HAVE — I. (|)hav, (|)hev; as an auxiliary “ or _(h)əv or after a vowel v; before “to” usually |haf or |hef …
Webster's New International English Dictionary
CAN — I. _kən, (|)kan; esp after a stressed vowel _k ə ŋ; esp in NewEng (|) ke(ə)n; esp dial (|) kin …
Webster's New International English Dictionary
BOTH — I. ˈbōth adjective Etymology: Middle English bothe, bathe, from Old Norse bāthir, adjective & pron.; akin to Old High German …
Webster's New International English Dictionary
-WAYS — ˌwāz{fl>adverb suffix{ Etymology: Middle English -ways, -weys, from ways, weyes, wayes, gen. of way, wey way — more at way …
Webster's New International English Dictionary
-WAYS — () A suffix formed from way by the addition of the adverbial -s (see -wards). It is often used interchangeably …
Английский словарь Webster
-WAYS — A suffix formed from way by the addition of the adverbial -s (see -wards). It is often used interchangeably with …
Webster's Revised Unabridged English Dictionary
-WAYS — a suffix appearing in native English adverbs: always; sideways. [ ME; see WAY 1 , -S 1 ]
Random House Webster's Unabridged English Dictionary
WAYS — /wayz/ , n. ( used with a sing. v. ) way (defs. 7, 14, 20a). [ ME weyes, OE weges, …
Random House Webster's Unabridged English Dictionary
HAVE — /hav/ ; unstressed /heuhv, euhv/ ; for 26 usually /haf/ , v. and auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers. have …
Random House Webster's Unabridged English Dictionary
CAN — can 1 /kan/ ; unstressed /keuhn/ , auxiliary v. and v., pres. sing. 1st pers. can , 2nd can or …
Random House Webster's Unabridged English Dictionary
BOTH — /bohth/ , adj. 1. one and the other; two together: He met both sisters. Both performances were canceled. pron. 2. …
Random House Webster's Unabridged English Dictionary
CAN — I. kən, ˈkan also ˈken; dialect ˈkin verb ( past could kəd, ˈku̇d ; present singular & plural can ) …
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary
BOTH — I. ˈbōth pronoun, plural in construction Etymology: Middle English bothe, probably from Old Norse bāthir; akin to Old High German …
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary
-WAYS — Etymology: Middle English, from ways, genitive of way : in (such) a way, course, direction, or manner side ways
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary
WAYS — noun plural but singular in construction Etymology: Middle English wayes, from genitive of way (I) Date: 1580 : way 6 …
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary
BOTH — conj as well; not only; equally. 2. both (·adj or ·pron) the one and the other; the two; the pair, …
Webster English vocab
-WAYS — a suffix formed from way by the addition of the adverbial -s (see -wards). it is often used interchangeably with …
Webster English vocab
WAYS — ~ a sloping structure down which a new ship is launched. → way ———————— ~ parts into which something divides …
Concise Oxford English vocab
-WAYS — ■ suffix forming adjectives and adverbs of direction or manner: lengthways. Compare with -wise .
Concise Oxford English vocab
WAYS — [ways] n pl but sing in constr [ME wayes, fr. gen. of [1]way] (1588): way 6. "a long ~ from …
Merriam-Webster English vocab
BOTH — [both] pron, pl in constr [ME bothe, fr. ON bathir; akin to OHG beide both] (12c): the one as well …
Merriam-Webster English vocab
-WAYS — [-ways] adv suffix [ME, fr. ways, gen. of way]: in (such) a way, course, direction, or manner "sideways"
Merriam-Webster English vocab
-WAYS — -ways BrE AmE weɪz ▷ — sideways ˈsaɪd weɪz
Longman Pronunciation English Dictionary
CAN — I . / kən; NAmE ; kæn/ modal verb —see also can (II) ( negative can·not / ˈkænɒt; NAmE -nɑːt/, …
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
WAYS — ➡ way
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
T — (also t ) / tiː; NAmE / noun [ C , U ] ( pl. Ts , T's , t's …
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
HAVE
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
BOTH — / bəʊθ; NAmE boʊθ/ determiner , pronoun 1. used with plural nouns to mean 'the two' or 'the one as …
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
T — T BrE AmE , t /tiː/ ( plural T’s , t’s ) noun 1 . [uncountable and countable] the 20th …
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
HAVE
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
CAN — I. can 1 S1 W1 /kən; strong kæn/ BrE AmE modal verb ( negative short form can’t ) [ Language: …
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
BOTH — I. both 1 S1 W1 /bəʊθ $ boʊθ/ BrE AmE determiner , predeterminer , pronoun 1 . used to talk …
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
BOTH — adj., pron., & adv. --adj. & pron. the two, not only one (both boys; both the boys; both of the …
Английский основной разговорный словарь
BOTH — adj., pron., & adv. adj. & pron. the two, not only one (both boys; both the boys; both of the …
Concise Oxford English Dictionary
CAN — 1. v.aux. (3rd sing. present can; past could) (foll. by infin. without to, or absol.; present and past only in …
Oxford English vocab
BOTH — adj., pron., & adv. --adj. & pron. the two, not only one (both boys; both the boys; both of the …
Oxford English vocab
HAVE
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
CAN — I. MODAL USES /kən, STRONG kæn/ Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: …
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
BOTH — Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use both when you are …
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
BOTH — Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use ~ when you are …
Collins COBUILD - Толковый словарь английского языка для изучающих язык
T — COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES can/can't cope ▪ Older people can't cope so well with the heat. don't expect miracles ▪ …
Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary
BOTH — determiner COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES both sexes (= both men and women ) ▪ People of both sexes buy her …
Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary
WAYS — [plural] [noun]Over the years we've got used to his funny little ways (= types of behaviour).
Cambridge English vocab
BOTH — [predeterminer], determiner, [pronoun] - (referring to) two people or things togetherBoth my parents are journalists.Her interest in the newspaper business …
Cambridge English vocab
BOTH — See: CUT BOTH WAYS, PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES.
Slang English vocab
WAYS — n. Function: noun plural but singular in construction Synonyms: DISTANCE 2 , WAY
Collegiate Thesaurus English vocab
WAYS — noun pluralbut singular in construction Synonyms: distance 2, way
Collegiate Thesaurus English vocabulary
WAYS — See ↑ HABIT 1 ◆◆◆ • ↑ be set in your ways • ↑ go their separate ways • ↑ …
Longman Activator English vocab
BOTH — INDEX: 1. what you say to talk about two people or things ◆◆◆ 1. what you say to talk about …
Longman Activator English vocab
BOTH — See: CUT BOTH WAYS, PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES.
Словарь английских идиом
WAYS — sway yaws
Anagrams English vocabulary
BOTH — pronoun 1 BAD : Both of them have not apologized yet. GOOD : Neither of them has apologized yet. BAD …
Longman Common Errors English vocabulary
WAYS — употр. с гл. в ед. ч.: расстояние - a long * from home далеко от дома /от родины/
Большой Англо-Русский словарь
T — I сокр. от temperature температура II сокр. от tension напряжение; натяжение III сокр. от t - true истинный 20-я буква …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь
T — сущ.; мн. Ts, T's двадцатая буква англ. алфавита mark with a T ист. ≈ выжигать вору клеймо в виде буквы …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь

English Idioms vocabulary

← CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES CAN'T HELP→