{"id":4571,"date":"2022-06-28T17:43:22","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T17:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=4571"},"modified":"2022-06-28T17:43:22","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T17:43:22","slug":"bread-and-butter-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/bread-and-butter-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Bread and Butter \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a saying to describe how important your job is in your life? You could say it\u2019s your \u201c<em>bread and butter<\/em>. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The expression \u201c<em>bread and butter<\/em>\u201d refers to your livelihood or income. If you have a job, then the money you receive through your salary is your \u201c<em>bread and butter<\/em>,\u201d as is your position at the firm. Since \u201c<em>bread and butter<\/em>\u201d describes sustenance and a popular morning meal, going without your \u201c<em>bread and butter<\/em>\u201d means you starve.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hence, if you get fired from your job or lose your income stream, you have no money to buy food, and you starve. If you tell someone that something is your <em>bread and butter<\/em>, you rely on it for income. The phrase can also apply to businesses you own, contracts with other people that provide income, or investments that pay you monthly.<\/p>\n<p>Your bread and butter can also refer to other things in your life that you can\u2019t live without. For instance, you could say that your morning 5-mile run is your <em>bread and butter<\/em> and the foundation of your fitness program.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWe get over 80% of our business from one client. They are the bread and butter of this company, so we treat them like royalty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t afford to lose that account. They are this company's bread and butter. Without them, we\u2019ll have to close our doors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis job is all I have. It\u2019s my bread and butter. Without it, I have nothing left in life. I can\u2019t pay more bills or feed my family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease don\u2019t fire me, sir. This job is all I have and my bread and butter. My family depends on me, so please, reconsider your decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMillions of people rely on social security as their bread and butter. Without their welfare and food stamps, they\u2019ll go hungry, and we\u2019ll have huge social unrest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what happens when the government takes away programs people rely on for their bread and butter. There is no escaping the damage they have done to the system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4572\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Bread-and-Butter.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"262\" height=\"262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Bread-and-Butter.jpg 287w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Bread-and-Butter-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Bread-and-Butter-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-4573\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Bread-and-Butter2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"284\" height=\"258\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression \u201cbread and butter\u201d originates from the 1700s. The original definition of the phrase meant your basic needs to sustain yourself. The phrase changed its meaning during the 1800s to refer to a person\u2019s livelihood or income.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re using the expression as an adjective before a noun, you\u2019ll usually hyphenate it as \u201cbread-and-butter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBread and butter\u201d is also a superstitious chant said by two people when they have to break contact after walking hand-in-hand. In this context, the first use of the saying appears in the \u201cFederal Writers Project\u2019s Guide to Kansas\u201d in 1939.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What does bread-and-butter mean?\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QpZ27MU1Ra0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Bread and Butter<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Primary income stream.<\/li>\n<li>Core business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Bread and Butter<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Doesn\u2019t pay the bills.<\/li>\n<li>Doesn\u2019t put food on the table.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Bread and butter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Bread and Butter Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase has nothing to do with bread or butter. Bread and butter is a staple food in many countries and a primary source of sustenance for billions of people daily.<\/p>\n<p>So, bread and butter refer to the source of income creation in your life. Using the saying to refer to money or your bank account is incorrect unless that investment is your primary source of income.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Bread and Butter<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the expression \u201cbread and butter\u201d when referring to your livelihood, like your job or business. It\u2019s a way of referencing how you create income to pay your expenses. Without it, you would be on the street. The phrase suits social and professional use.<\/p>\n<p>Use it at work to describe how your clients are your \u201cbread and butter,\u201d Without them, you wouldn\u2019t have a business. Use it at home to explain how your work is your \u201cbread and butter\u201d and how you put food on the table for your family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a saying to describe how important your job is in your life? You could say it\u2019s your \u201cbread and butter. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The expression \u201cbread and butter\u201d refers to your livelihood or income. If you have a job, then the money you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4571"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4571"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5088,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4571\/revisions\/5088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}