bread and butter

Question

hello,Could you tell me if the idiom 'bread and butter' makes sense in the sentence below:I had a letter from Rod. He's still very much bread and butter, working on an Australian sheep farm.I would also like to know if the sentence below makes sense:Emlyn is a Welshman, alive an kicking. (or maybe 'fair and square' is better).thank you

Danyoo · Accepted Answer

Yogi2005hello,

Could you tell me if the idiom 'bread and butter' makes sense in the sentence below:

I had a letter from Rod. He's still very much bread and butter, working on an Australian sheep farm.
You want to say his sheep farm job is his bread and butter, not 'he' is bread and butter.
Rewrite as : I had a letter from Rod. He's still working on an Australian sheep farm which continues to be his bread and butter.

I would also like to know if the sentence below makes sense:

Emlyn is a Welshman, alive and kicking. (or maybe 'fair and square' is better).
I am not 100% sure about this one...may be others can comment. I think it's better to say either:
1. Emlyn is a Welshman who is alive and kicking, or
2. Emlyn is a Welshman, still alive and kicking.

Fair and square means in an honest way, and without any doubt (from Cambridge)
as in: We won the match fair and square. I suppose you could say someone is fair and square, but it's meaning is different than alive and kicking (still active).

thank you

Yogi2005 · Answer

Hi,

Thank you Danyoo, after your comments I rearranged some sentences but still have some problems,

Unfortunately, I cannot change sentences, the sentences are imposed on me, I have to put in a gap an idiom from a box. There are almost 40 idioms.

I've already used 'one's bread and butter' which means money or income. The one I don't know how to use is 'bread and butter' (without one's).
My dictionary says that it might mean - "a question that is concerned with the most important and basic things". But I don't have any sentence where I could use this idiom, what about the one below:

The recent radio and TV information programmes on smoking are all .................. of a government campaign against it. (I used here 'part and parcel' but maybe 'bread and butter' could work here as well)

Could you tell me if the sentence below is correct and makes sense:
I had a letter from Rod. He's still very much alive and kicking, working on an Australian sheep farm.

Maybe , there is someone who knows what is typical of Welshmen , than I could find the idiom that fits the sentence below,
Emlyn is a Welshman, ........................

thank you

Khoff · Answer

"Alive and kicking" is much better in the sentence about the guy on the sheep farm. You would use it if you didn't even know if someone was still alive, and then they turned out to be fine.

One use of "bread and butter" that might possible help you - a thank-you note written after you have been a guest in someone's home is often called "a bread-and-butter letter." That's the only usage I know for "bread and butter" apart from the literal meaning and the idiomatic meaning of job or source of income. It seems odd that the exercise would have "bread and butter" twice, with and without "one's" -- is it possible it's just a mistake? Or -- the dictionary definition you quote might suggest a use like this: "Welfare reforms are not trying to give the poor a diet of caviar and champagne -- it's simply a question of bread and butter."

TV information programs are indeed part and parcel of the government campaign -- not bread and butter.

As far as Emlyn the Welshman, they don't give you much context, but I would think you want an idiom that means "thoroughly" -- maybe something like "through and through," or "from head to toe." How about "born and bred"?

Hope this helps.

Yogi2005 · Answer

Thank you khoff,

Indeed, I have 'through and through' on my list, so
Emlyn si a Welshman, through and through.

I don't know if there are any mistakes in the exercise, I hope not, but I can't rule it out.
When it comes to the remaining idioms, what do yoy think about this?

I can't tell you how to use prepositions correctly, but I can give you a few ...........rules. ( I put here 'rough and ready' but I found on the net the collocation 'bread and butter rules' - would it work in my example?)

I have also a problem with the below:
Let's settle the bill for the damage .................. We were both at fault, so we'll both pay half. (is 'fair and square' ok?)

Pru should have defended herself and told Lucy what she thinks of her , but sh'e too ........ (I would put here 'fair and square' too, but i can't use it twice)

Maybe I can use 'rough and ready' on one of the two latter?

The only sentence with 'a question of ....." (the phrase as in khoff's example with bread and butter) is:
There are some strange people in the flat above us, very bohemian in dress and behaviour. But I've told Sam it's a question of .......... (live and let live?). They're probably very nice.

thank you.

Khoff · Answer

I can't tell you how to use prepositions correctly, but I can give you a few ...........rules. ( I put here 'rough and ready' but I found on the net the collocation 'bread and butter rules' - would it work in my example?)

I think "rough and ready" works here. I've never heard "bread and butter rules."

There are some strange people in the flat above us, very bohemian in dress and behaviour. But I've told Sam it's a question of .......... (live and let live?). They're probably very nice. good choice.

Let's settle the bill for the damage .................. We were both at fault, so we'll both pay half. (is 'fair and square' ok?) probably okay.

Pru should have defended herself and told Lucy what she thinks of her , but sh'e too ........ (I would put here 'fair and square' too, but i can't use it twice) I don't like "fair and square" here. What else is available? How about "prim and proper"?

Yogi2005 · Answer

thank you khoff and danyoo, you really helped me.

In my opinion there is no idiom in my list that could fit this sentence:
Pru should have defended herself and told Lucy what she thinks of her , but sh'e too ........

"prim and proper" sounds fine , even though it's not in the list, instead there is 'bread and butter', which I cannot fit anywhere. I assume there is a mistake.

thank you again

Tagalong1966 · Answer

Yogi2005hello,

Could you tell me if the idiom 'bread and butter' makes sense in the sentence below:

I had a letter from Rod. He's still very much bread and butter, working on an Australian sheep farm.

I would also like to know if the sentence below makes sense:

Emlyn is a Welshman, alive an kicking. (or maybe 'fair and square' is better).

thank you

Try this: "I had a letter from Rod. He's still earning his bread and butter working on an Austrailian sheep farm."

"Emlyn, the Welshman is still alive and kicking."

bread and butter

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