ABSTRACT
The proverbial meaning of ‘to have one’s cake and eat it’ – the absurdity of wishing to consume and retain something – was inverted when it came to denote the British government’s wish to retain EU membership benefits without its obligations. Between 2016 and 2018, the phrase was recycled, redefined and ridiculed as characterising Britain’s position in the Brexit negotiations. Charting the proverb’s Brexit-related discourse history explains how it gained prominence in public discourse; how realignments affected its appeal; and what pragmatic meanings it acquired. The idiom framed Brexit as a bold and promising enterprise, while counter-discourses recaptured its critical function.
