at the breadline
- idiom
:
en la línea de pobreza
- She grew up at the breadline, with her parents struggling to afford food and rent.
Examples
-
He struggles to make ends meet, often finding himself at the breadline.
-
Many families have found themselves at the breadline after the economic downturn.
-
Rising costs pushed more people at the breadline this winter.
-
Many families are living at the breadline today.
-
Many families have found themselves at the breadline after the economic downturn.
-
She grew up at the breadline, with her parents struggling to afford food and rent.
-
He struggles to make ends meet, often finding himself at the breadline.
Synonyms
20
6.5
Very poor and without basic things like food or a home
9
5.1
Very poor and needing help to live
4
7.7
Poor and without a home or money
2
6.3
Living with only enough money for day to day needs and no savings
1
6.8
To live with only enough money to pay for basic needs and no savings
1
7.6
Having almost no money
A person who has little money and cannot buy basic things
Having almost no money or things
Antonyms
How Poor
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + the + breadline
This is a simple prepositional phrase whose meaning follows directly from 'at' (indicating location/level) combined with the noun 'breadline' (the poverty threshold). There is no additional idiomatic shift in the construction, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer the meaning.
Etymology
At the breadline comes from the image of people standing in a long line to get free bread from charities or soup kitchens during hard times. Being in that line meant you had almost no money, so today at the breadline means 'living very near poverty'.