Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to put butter on someone's bread

to put butter on someone's bread

9.5
To give someone money or a job so they can live
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : proveer a alguien
  • She works two jobs to put butter on her family's bread.

Examples

  • This new contract finally puts butter on my bread after years of struggling.

  • The company puts butter on their bread by offering bonuses.

  • His carpentry skills put butter on his bread throughout hard times.

  • The charity puts butter on their bread with donations.

  • His carpentry skills put butter on his bread during tough economic times.

  • She took on a second job to put butter on her family's bread.

  • This new project puts butter on my bread and secures my financial stability.

Synonyms

to put food on the table
vsto put butter on someone's bread
  • Informal
38 2.8

To earn enough money to support yourself or your family

can mean providing money or the means for someone else to earn
to bring home the bacon
vsto put butter on someone's bread
  • Informal
9 4.4

To earn money to support your family

can mean providing money or the means for someone else to earn

Antonyms

to withdraw support
7 4.3

To stop giving help and approval to a person or group

How Supported

to sustain
222 3.9
to provide for
155 3.7
to put butter on someone's bread
  • UK
9.5
to support
753 1.4
to help out
  • Informal
486 1.0

Surface Forms

put butter on someone's bread infinitive
put butter on someone's bread past
put butter on someone's bread past participle
putting butter on someone's bread present participle
puts butter on someone's bread third person singular

Morphology

put + butter + on + someone's + bread

The literal words ('put', 'butter', 'on', 'bread') compose a clear physical image (spreading butter on bread) that does not by itself indicate financial support; the figurative meaning relies on knowing 'bread' as slang for money and mapping 'put butter on' to providing extra resources. Because understanding the MWE requires an additional slang sense and a metaphorical transfer, it is partially transparent but not fully predictable to a B1 learner who only knows the basic literal meanings.

Etymology

Put butter on someone's bread may come from the simple image of putting butter on bread to make a meal richer and make sure someone has enough to eat. So it now means 'to give someone money or work so they can live'.