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. 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 )

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

Example Sentences

The first-time elected official — she prefers that title over “politician” because it “impresses on people that this is not something you’re given” — plans to focus on “bread and butter issues” the moment she enters office.

From Los Angeles Times

This is the bread and butter of our players.

From BBC

Two half-drunk cups of tea, and a plate of bread and butter and crisps were found in the living-room - fuelling speculation that someone else had visited the house that evening.

From BBC

However, she rejected criticism that she was more concerned with "culture wars" than the "bread and butter of opposition politics".

From BBC

For the Pacific Islands, climate change, geopolitics and security have often been the bread and butter of any summit.

From BBC