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have it both ways



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Idioms and Phrases

Achieve two mutually exclusive objectives, as in Bill wants to have it both ways—to enjoy Christmas at home and to travel with his friends . The related have it all means “to get everything one wants,” as in It's too bad we can't have it all—the wisdom of experience and the fresh enthusiasm of youth . [Early 1900s]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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have ithave it coming