VOA慢速英语--谁是你家里养家糊口的人?

Who Is the 'Breadwinner' in Your Family?

Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.

On today’s show about English words and expressions, we are going to talk about bread.

Now, most countries around the world have some sort of bread in their food culture.

No matter what shape or flavor it has, bread sustains² people. It not only helps them to survive but also to feel satisfied and comfortable.

Maybe that is how the word “bread” got its slang³ meaning. You see, “bread” -- and the raw form “dough⁴” – both can mean “money.”

In the song “I Get Around,” the Beach Boys sing about “making real good bread” to attract women. And they do not mean a baguette!

I get around,

From town to town,

I'm a real cool head,

I'm makin' real good bread ...

If you make a lot of “bread” at a job, your employer is paying you well. On the other hand, if you are out of bread, you do not have any way to pay for your expenses. You are broke!

An Afghan street vendor⁵ sells bread before the Iftar meal that breaks the fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Kabul, Afghanistan, June 5, 2018.

Using bread and dough this way may sound a little outdated⁶. But you will hear it used that way. So, it's good to know. And bread meaning money is used in several English expressions.

Take for example, this very current, common and useful expression -- breadwinner.

Even though “bread” here means "money," the word breadwinner does not mean someone who has won money in a competition.

A “breadwinner” is a person who makes money for others. They are the ones who pay the bills in a family. They support or provide for dependents. So, we can also call a breadwinner a “provider.”

Let’s hear it used in this example.

A: I saw Elsa the other day. She looked so tired. What’s going on?

B: She has a lot of pressure on her right now. Her parents are both really sick. So, she is now the breadwinner for her whole family!

A: Oh, wow! Doesn’t she have a brother in college?

B: Yeah. And her grandfather lives with the family. So, she has to provide for all of them.

A: No wonder she looked so tired. She has to support a lot of dependents on one salary.

To throw another food expression into the discussion, the breadwinner in a family is also the person who brings home the bacon. These days, some people also use “cheese” to mean money. Put bread, bacon and cheese together and you have a lot of money not to mention a really tasty sandwich!

Now, if you are the sole breadwinner for your family, it is important that you keep your job. It would be cruel for someone to take the bread out of your mouth. That does not mean they stole your sandwich while you were eating it.

This expression means they took away your ability to make money -- your livelihood⁷. And that would be terrible for your whole family! If you lose your livelihood you could end up on the breadline.

A "breadline" is a line of people seeking food from a charity or government agency. In the 1930s during the economic depression in the United States, it was common to see hundreds of people in big cities waiting on breadlines.

So, being “on the breadline” describes someone who depends on food donations to survive.

And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. We do have some other “bread” expressions but they will have to wait for another time.

I’m Anna Matteo.

All the way from Washington

Her breadwinner begs off the bathroom floor

We live for just these twenty years

Do we have to die for the fifty more?

All night, He was the young American

Young American, young American

Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. At the end of the show, David Bowie sings “Young Americans.”

Words in This Story

flavor – n. the quality of something that you can taste

sustain¹ – v. to provide what is needed for something or someone to exist, continue, etc.

slang – n. words that are not considered part of the standard vocabulary of a language and that are used very informally in speech especially by a particular group of people

raw – adj. not cooked

dough – n. a mixture of flour, water, and other ingredients that is baked to make bread, cookies, etc.

broke – adj. not having any money

outdated – adj. no longer current

sole – adj. to be the only one

livelihood – n. a way of earning money in order to live

1 sustain   

vt.保持，供养，维持，支持，经受

参考例句：

• During the war we had just enough food to sustain us.战争期间，我们的食物仅够维持生活。
• These four posts sustain the entire building.这四根柱子支撑着整座建筑物。

2 sustains   

v.维持( sustain的第三人称单数 )；支撑；忍受；长期保持

参考例句：

• The sea wall sustains the shock of the waves. 海堤能抵挡海浪的冲击。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The breakwater sustains the shock of the great waves. 防波堤承受巨浪的冲击。 来自辞典例句

3 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

4 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

5 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

6 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

7 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。