BREAD AND BUTTER Definition & Meaning

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bread and butter

noun

bread spread with butter.
a basic means of support; source of livelihood; sustenance.
The automobile industry is the bread and butter of many Detroiters.

bread-and-butter

[bred-n-buht-er]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

providing a livelihood or basic source of income; supplying the basic needs of life.
a bread-and-butter job; the agency's bread-and-butter account.
of or relating to basic needs.
housing and other bread-and-butter political issues.
basic or everyday; staple; routine.
expressing thanks for hospitality.
a bread-and-butter letter.

bread and butter

noun

(modifier) a means of support or subsistence; livelihood
the inheritance was their bread and butter
1. providing a basic means of subsistence
  a bread-and-butter job
2. solid, reliable, or practical
  a bread-and-butter player
3. expressing gratitude, as for hospitality (esp in the phrase bread-and-butter letter )

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of bread and butter¹

First recorded in 1620–30

Origin of bread and butter²

First recorded in 1720–30; adj. use of noun phrase bread and butter

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Idioms and Phrases

The essential, sustaining element, as in The quality of the schools is the bread and butter of town property values . This idiom alludes to a basic food, bread spread with butter. [c. 1700]

Means of livelihood, as in John's job is the family's bread and butter . [First half of 1700s]

Ordinary, routine, as in Don't worry about it; this is just a bread and butter assignment . [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Attacks on “woke” progressives and the cities in which they live are the bread and butter of current conservatism.

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I feel so energized knocking doors, in part, because that's my bread and butter.

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I feel like rock is still the bread and butter of what I know how to do.

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Still, for much of the next year and a half, money from charities and more than $2.5 million from the National Institutes of Health remained Kaspar’s bread and butter.

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Playing in front of fans around the country is the bread and butter for any musician.

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bread bread-and-butter letter

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