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You know what irritates me irrationally today, the saying "miss the forest for the trees"
(lemmy.ml)
Everyone is missing out on the good shit in life focusing only on the forest but not the fine details, the forest only exists because of millions of small beautiful details.
I don't know if it's because I'm on the spectrum but I hope it isn't, I wish everyone could experience the same joy I get from all the small things.
Don't get me started on "have your cake and eat it too"
That confused me for the longest time because colloquially, "to have cake" means to consume cake, so why can't I eat my cake and also eat my cake?
So for those who continue to be confused by this, "have your cake" means having the cake sitting in front of you untouched. Maybe you want to admire it because it's pretty or save it for later. Whatever NT people usually do with cake.
No, you're absolutely right. But also, to imagine having my cake (untouched and sitting in front of you) and eating it, means literally the same as "eat your cake". Because if it's not in front of you, how else are you gonna eat it?
"Eat your cake and have it"? OK, now we can communicate
(for the record, I asked politely not to get me started)
No, to have in this instance means for the cake to exist in your possession.
Once you eat it, you don't have it anymore. You can't share a cake you ate, or put it back in the fridge, or add more sprinkles, it's ceased to be a cake.
So have your cake and eat it too is impossible. The saying means something is an impossible desire.
Aye. I think part of the confusion is that... Who has a cake without having the intention of eating it? Another is that we tend to think of cakes as large objects that produce leftovers.
I would say to think about it as "to have your car, and to sell it, too," but we've reached an age of such rent seeking that people -- mostly car dealerships -- have been doing this for years.
That phrase used to drive me nuts. It’s so obvious its meaning is conveyed a lot better by flipping it around!
Pick one: