English, baby!

bread and butter

Date: Oct 03 2013

Quote

1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.

“I have to think, OK, this basic top might not be the most creative piece of clothing, but it fits everyone and sells well. You need those bread and butter pieces.”
-TV star and designer Lauren Conrad on the clothing line she designs (Us Weekly)

Definition

1. Definition - Study the definition.

Go Super to Listen

thing one does best, thing one is most successful at doing, thing one can do easily

2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.

Go Super to Listen

In many cultures, some form of bread is the most basic food. It’s cheap, filling, and pretty easy to find. It’s also common to put some sort of topping on your bread. It can be jelly, or meat, or a sauce. In the US, the most basic thing you can put on your bread is butter.

When someone describes something as bread and butter, then, they are talking about the most basic way of doing something. They are talking about something that is dependable and straightforward. For example, you might say that you hope to be an actor someday, but your job at the grocery store is your bread and butter. You know that job is dependable, even if it’s not as exciting as your other aspirations.

Designer Lauren Conrad realizes that not every piece of clothing she designs can be fancy and elaborate. People need simple outfits, too. They need some basic pieces for every day. These pieces are their bread and butter.

What items of clothing are the bread and butter in your wardrobe?

Examples

1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.

Go Super to Listen

“When I go on a first date, I always wear my favorite blue shirt. It looks best on me and people always seem to like it. That shirt is definitely my bread and butter.”

“Mariah Carey sings lots of different kinds of songs, but slow love songs are her bread and butter. Her slow songs are always popular.”

“Matt is a good basketball player, but his problem is that he doesn’t have a bread and butter move yet. He doesn’t do anything perfectly. He needs to practice more often.”

“David Beckham is a great soccer player. One of his bread and butter skills is the corner kick.”

Winners

1. Winners - See who guessed the slang definition correctly.

	Basic and necessary things by cubi1604
	that provides regular income by Bojana
	Something common or irreplaceable by Manu4
	Important parts. by a2020
	source of one's income by Namadi

Want to guess next week's slang?

Go Super to Ask Ebaby! teachers your questions!

The iTEP^® test

Sponsored by

Schedule an iTEP^® test and take the official English Practice Test.
Take Now >

Comments

bonnierhett

China

bread is ok ,butter is not ok

mer sede

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

mmmmm delicious specially with strawberry jam ♥♥

lisa_lezhneva

Russian Federation

I tried to think about what is my ‘bread and butter’ and understood that it’s my ability to sleep! I can do it anywhere and anytime! perfectly!

yazboy

Morocco

I’m a student at university, i study english literrature, we have so many romans and books about english to learn it. but , when we open communication i get more new words and i like that. so communication is my bread and butter to learn english.

Yllod olop

Colombia

ohh!!! I live in Bogota Colombia, and here the weather can be change frecuently in the same day. At the morning is a sunny, so some jeans, a tiny shirt, trainers or sandals are my bread and butter, however at the afternoon the weather became cold and rainy, in this case Sweater, boths, jackets, warmer trousers are my bread and butter.

Some days a get crazy, i dont know what clothes i have to wear.!!!

bárbara Briggite delgado porras

Peru

BREAD AND BUTTER IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE AS ADVANTAGE.

mitya09

Russian Federation

I like to eat bread and butter with fresh tea) But in my wardrobe there are not same things, because I don’t want to associate my skills with certain activity. Skills and things can be changed depending on the situation.

Mehmet Emin

Turkey

We are like ‘bread and butter’

pratik_patel

India

I think my bread and butter is my troubleshooting skills. I can easily identify the root cause of the problems.

Ya Nina

Kazakhstan

I suppose that my bread and butter in my wardrobe are jeans, black trousers and skirt, my favourite blouses and my high-heeled shoes. I can’t imagine my wardrobe without these clothing.
As I understand these idiom, our bread and butter can be absolutely different things: both our peculiarity and our strong professional skills, both our clothing and our favoutite hobbies. I can’t choose similar idiom in russian language, but I suppose that it can be, for example, expression “visit card”. When we use it, we mean that it is our bread and butter.