bread and butter

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the fundamental and most reliable source of income, livelihood, or sustenance that forms the practical foundation of a person's or organisation's economic existence, as opposed to supplementary, exceptional, or aspirational sources of revenue; the phrase uses the most basic and everyday of meals as a metaphor for the reliable core of an enterprise, characterising the straightforward, unglamorous but essential work that keeps an operation financially viable; it implies that while more exciting or prestigious activities may attract attention, the bread and butter business is what actually sustains the organisation through ordinary times