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UKThe breadline
/ðə bɹˈɛdlaɪn/
/ðə bɹˈɛdlaɪn/The breadline
[NOUN]1
the income level below which a person is considered to be living in poverty or experiencing financial hardship
What is the origin of the idiom "the breadline" and when to use it?
The idiom "the breadline" originated in the early 20th century during the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted for several years. This phrase is used to describe the income level or economic threshold below which a person or family is considered to be living in poverty and experiencing financial hardship.
Examples
1. I'm not saying, all of a sudden, poor agents doing a terrible job on the breadline.
2. If you're a single mother living on the breadline, you will have a different experience of loneliness to an elderly person whose peers have died or a young boy who's at school and has no friends but is very connected online.
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