be on the breadline
be on the breadline
To be very poor, as if one could (or does) rely on food donations to survive. A "breadline" is a line of people seeking food distributed by a charitable or government agency. If I don't make a big sale this week, my family will be on the breadline. Sure, we have money now, but my grandmother grew up in a family that was on the breadline and lived in public housing. I suspect Larry's so worried about his financial security because he was on the breadline as kid.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive
I know what it is like to
be on the breadline" - Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith hits back at the man who challenged him to live on PS53 a week.
I know what it is like to
be on the breadline" Minister Iain Duncan Smith hits back at the man who challenged him to live on PS53 a week "We never fight.
W ORK and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has insisted he knows what is like to
be on the breadline as he dismissed a petition calling for him to live on PS53 a week as a "complete stunt".
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