What is "let them eat cake"?

Answer 1

According to legend, Marie Antoinette said this when she was told that the French peasantry were starving with no bread to eat. She was queen of France on the eve of the French Revolution when the French nobility were enjoying the best of luxuries and the common people had nothing.

The quote represents how clueless and indifferent the French aristocracy was to the plight of the common people at the time. (Doesn't really matter if she said it or not.)

Answer 2

Supposedly a quote from Marie Antoinette: When told the people were without bread and hungry, that was reported to be her response. It has been repeated since 1789 to show her heartlessness and how out of touch with the common person she was. CAKE? what? how? when they didn't even have bread?

Turns out that "cake" was actually a form of bread, sort of an unleavened bread left behind when bread was baked. If she had meant "cake" as in the dessert, she would have used a different word entirely. But she wouldn't have said that. She wasn't that stupid or heartless. She got really bad press and paid dearly for it.

Answer 3

It a derogatory phrase, attributed with Marie Antoinette, that basically looks down upon others and says they are not worthy to enjoy the same good life that you have.

While most of France was going bankrupt and into poverty, the French Queen Marie Antoinette continued to indulge herself in an expensive lifestyle and lavish parties. So the story goes that someone told her this didn't look good to the people, who were starving and desperate, and she basically stuck her nose the air and didn't care about their problems.

The Wikipedia link (given above) is a good one to explain what "cake" she might have meant.

Her arrogance was rewarded when she was beheaded shortly thereafter.

Sadly enough, a lot of politicians and elite families still treat people the same way today.

Answer 4

one of the deadliest phrases in history. Marie Antoinette said that supposedly when she was told that the french people had no bread. "If they have no bread to eat, then let them eat cake" she said....the people thought she was being cruel but infact she was just stupid and thought that everyone lived wealthy and had cake to eat like she did. She rarely had ever seen life beyond the palace so yeah lol

Answer 5

This is a reference to Marie Antoinette. Actually, it was not Marie Antoinette who said this. During her unpopular rule of France, the gossip papers at the time wrote that she responded "let them eat cake" when asked what to do about the bread shortage in France at the time.

Google Marie Antoinette and you will be able to learn more about her reign of France.

Answer 6

Doesn't this go back to the days of Marie Antoinette?
Someone said to her: "The people are hungry.
They have no bread".
Her reply was: "Well, let them eat cake".

Answer 7

Something Queen Marie Antoinette said to her aide when he asked her what he should give peasants waiting outside her palace. Google her to find out the whole story. In those days cake was poor peoples food and was given to them to stop them from going hungry.

Answer 8

It came from Marie Antwinette(not spelled right)

She ruled France, and was so out of touch with reality that when the poor people were in the streets clamouring for bread(because they had none), she came up with the ridiculous statement:"let them eat cake!"

They chopped her head off...

Answer 9

I'ts a piece of cake
to bake a pretty cake if the way is hazy
you gotta do the cooking by the book you know you can't be lazy
never use a messy recipe the cake would end up crazy
if you do it by the book then you'll have a cake
we gotta have it made you know that I love cake
finally it's time to make a cake

Answer 10

http://ask.yahoo.com/20021122.html

simply it was said to the starving French citizens when they were whining about not having bread, the story is that Marie Antoinette responded (hey sucks they don't have any bread), "let them eat cake"

its a historical quote famous because it is obnoxious