bread and butter

¹

noun

1. bread spread with butter.

2. a basic means of support; source of livelihood; sustenance.

   The automobile industry is the bread and butter of many Detroiters.

bread-and-butter

²

[bred-n-buht-er]

adjective

1. 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.

2. of or relating to basic needs.

   housing and other bread-and-butter political issues.

3. basic or everyday; staple; routine.

4. expressing thanks for hospitality.

   a bread-and-butter letter.

bread and butter

noun

1. (modifier) a means of support or subsistence; livelihood

   the inheritance was their bread and butter

2. 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 )

Word 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

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]