le beurre et l'argent du beurre
French
Alternative forms
Etymology
Literally, “the butter and the money from [selling] the butter”.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lə bœ.ʁ‿e l‿aʁ.ʒɑ̃ dy bœʁ/
Noun
le beurre et l’argent du beurre m (uncountable)
- two mutually exclusive things, such that one can only choose one over another
- Tu ne peux pas avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre. ― You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Usage notes
While the French expression is used mostly with avoir and vouloir, a variety of construction with verbs such as obtenir or garder are possible, unlike in English.
See also
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.