Money

I'm almost 65 years old, and I think I've always heard it, even today.

From dictionary.com: Slang of bread meaning "money" dates from 1940s, but bread-winner is from 1818. Bread-and-butter in the fig. sense of "basic needs" is from 1732.
"One's daily bread" is very old - from the Bible
In rhyming Cockney slang "bread and honey" = money

Hi,

I've always thought that "bread-winner" and "One's daily bread" were actual references to bread.

But I've never looked it up.

Clive

Clive:
Bread in "bread-winner"surely is not literal; in the 1800's people were paid in money, not in bread. Also "the one who brings home the bacon" means about the same - the person who earns the money for the family.
The "daily bread" is probably originally referring to the staple but in modern times, this is more a symbol for life's necessities...

Hi,

I wasn't suggesting that someone was literally paid in bread. I was just thinking that it was a figurative way of saying that their labour enabled them to feed their family.

Clive