have it both ways

present singular third person has it both ways · participle present having it both ways · participle past had it both ways · past had it both ways

1. idiomaticSynonym of have one's cake and eat it too.

   It is called the Liberal Democratic Party, and it beats our old cleaner, because it can suck and blow at once. They have it both ways. They are like weird hermaphroditic parrotfish, changing sex at will.

   2003 September 25, Boris Johnson, “The least said about Lib Dems, the better”, in Telegraph, UK, retrieved 28 May 2018

   1 more example

   Rarely has a sexploitation flick managed to have it both ways: IMPROPER CONDUCT criticizes male-dominated power plays while offering viewers a voyeuristic peep at white-collar types abusing their power to deblouse their underlings.

   1994, James Pallot, The Motion Picture Guide 1995 Annual: The Films of 1994, →ISBN, page 177

   Synonyms: have one's cake and eat it too