staff of life
2
3.7
- noun
- /stæf əv laɪf/
- Archaic
:
pan
- But we have cereals, things that make bread, things that make the staff of life, as it's been called, right?
- staff of life - bread
But we have cereals, things that make bread, things that make the staff of life, as it's been called, right?
- But we have cereals, things that make bread, things that make the staff of life, as it's been called, right?
Examples
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In times of famine, people often see rice as the staff of life due to its role as a staple food.
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It sounds crazy, I know, but it is clear, and in the weeks since then, the "staff of life," the very symbol of food itself, has become to me a symbol of the domestication of humankind.
Blog text (7) -
This is the staff of life.
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What we need is the basic staff of life!
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Pizza is the staff of life.
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"You take the staff of life and the grapes."
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Now I've been denied the staff of life.
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Though slow to come into mature bearing, nut pines have been the staff of life for many peoples for thousands of years.
Blog text (1) -
Many cultures refer to bread as the staff of life because it is a primary source of nutrition.
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Throughout history, the staff of life has been essential in sustaining communities and families.
Synonyms
805
1.0
A common food made by baking dough from flour, often with yeast
23
5.7
Food and drink that keep you alive and healthy
13
2.7
The food and other things you need to live each day
Food that people bake from dough, like loaves or rolls
How Essential
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses a clear metaphor — 'staff' as something that supports and 'of life' indicating what is supported — so a learner who knows the constituents can infer a general meaning like 'that which sustains life' (i.e. basic sustenance). However, identifying the conventional specific referent 'bread' requires cultural or lexical knowledge beyond literal composition, making the expression only partially predictable.
Etymology
Staff of life may come from the image of a staff, a simple walking stick that helps a person stand and move. Because bread kept people alive, people thought of it as the staff that 'supports' life, so the phrase means 'basic food'.