You can’t have your cake and eat it too

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Today’s expression is: You can’t have your cake and eat it too. I was prompted to look into this one as it is “Employee Appreciation Day” and we had cake. So, in this case – I got my cake and promptly ate it. :)

Explanation: If you tell someone they can’t have their cake and eat it too, it means they can’t expect to achieve everything they wanted or have everything go their way.

Example: Janelle was dissapointed that she won first prize for her chocolate chip cookies, but didn’t win a prize for her pumpkin pie. Her sister pointed out that she couldn’t have her cake and eat it too.

Origin: A very early use of this phrase was “wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?” from John Heywood’s “A dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of All the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue”).The meaning here is that it is impossibile to eat your cake and still have it afterwards!

Don’t hold your breath

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Today’s phrase is don’t hold your breath.

Explanation: If you say you’re hoping for something to happen, but you won’t hold your breath, then you’re not overly optimistic it’ll happen.

Example: Jessie really hoped the train would show up on time today, but she wasn’t going to hold her breath.

Origin: I couldn’t find anything specific on the origin of this phrase, but apparently it’s been around since the 1850′s. Basically, the idea is that if you held your breath while waiting for the expected event, you would die before it happened.

Can you think of a real life occasion you would use this phrase?

Tilting at windmills

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Today’s expression is tilting at windmills.

Explanation:  If someone says you are tilting at windmills, they mean you are attacking imaginary enemies.

Example: Cat was convinced someone at work was trying to get her fired, but Jenn told her she was just tilting at windmills.

Origin:  This one comes from the literary class Don Quixote. Quixote imagines windmills that he sees to be giants, and attacks them with his lance. 

Hint: The windmills win.

My high school put on Man of La Mancha as our musical in grade 10. For some inane reason, this inspired me to select to read Man of La Mancha my last year in high school.  I preferred the musical – much shorter and easier to understand. :)

Cast iron stomach

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Today’s phrase is cast iron stomach. 

Explanation: If you say someone has a cast iron stomach, it means they can eat anything and not feel ill.

Example:  I often tell my husband he has a cast iron stomach, because he’ll eat stuff that’s been in the fridge way too long, and never gets sick.

Origin: I really couldn’t find anything really specific about the origin of this phrase.  Some vague references to it being French and having originated in the 16th century.

Today’s question:  Do you have a cast iron stomach? What’s the oddest or grossest things you’ve ever eaten? I’ve eaten haggis.

Carte blanche

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Today’s phrase is carte blanche.

Explanation: If you have carte blanche, you can basically do whatever you want, or spend whatever you want.

Example:  Josie gave her decorator carte blanche when it came to redecorating her dog’s bedroom.  She said “Spare no expense, my little Fifi must have the best!”

Origin:  This comes from the French, meaning white or blank paper, which is the military term for surrender. someone would be given “carte blanche” to make peace – that is, to make whatever terms they needed to.