bread and butter

1. noun A vital component of something. Bread and butter, as foodstuffs, are considered basic forms of sustenance. A flourishing stock market is the bread and butter of a successful country. These so-called "ordinary" employees are the bread and butter of our company. Every single one of them deserves a Christmas bonus! All of these scheduling conflicts have been disastrous for students and teachers alike. Scheduling truly is the bread and butter of a low-stress semester.

2. noun A job or task that provides one with a steady income. I'm an artist on the weekends, but being a tutor is my bread and butter. So many aspiring actors never make it. You're very lucky that acting has been your bread and butter. Sure, if a 9-to-5 office job were my bread and butter, it would offer some stability, but it would also feel positively stifling.

3. adjective Providing financial stability. The phrase can be hyphenated when used as an adjective. I love any writing assignment where I can be creative, but I always make sure to pick up some bread-and-butter gigs to pay the bills. Pop, I know you like fixing up these machines, but you really need a bread-and-butter job that makes you actual money. My parents are fine with me being an artist part-time because I also have a bread-and-butter office job.

4. adjective Typical or common. The phrase can be hyphenated when used as an adjective. My sister worries about everything, even the bread-and-butter tasks of everyday life. They hired me to be a file clerk, so I can only assume that filing paperwork will be one of my bread-and-butter duties. Kids today need to be taught real bread-and-butter skills, like how to balance a checkbook.

your ˌbread and ˈbutter

the work that somebody does which provides them with enough money to live: He’s written one or two novels but journalism is his bread and butter.