Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A line of people waiting to receive food given by a charitable organization or public agency.
- idiom (below the breadline) Extremely poor.
- idiom (on the breadline) Dependent on public donations of food.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun a queue of people waiting for free food.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
line of people waiting to receivefood from acharity .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a queue of people waiting for free food
- noun a queue of people waiting for free food
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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If you listen to what the Rowntree Foundation calls the breadline you might be amazed at what they consider the bare necessities.
Army Rumour Service 2010
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Articles examine social attitudes to unemployment and poverty through the decades, and there's also a survey of Depression and wartime cookbooks, and a sobering photograph of a Helsinki leipäjono literally "breadline" or soup kitchen in 2006.
Shadows of Recession David McDuff 2009
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Nobody wants a pay cut, but do you want to see the person that works side by side with you everyday in the "breadline", or losing their home?
unknown title 2009
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In 2006, in an unusual act of defiance, a female fruit picker from South Africa condemned Tesco's labour practices in person at the company's annual general meeting, claiming that workers such as herself were receiving "breadline" wages.
Latest financial, market & economic news and analysis | guardian.co.uk Rebecca Smithers David Smith 2009
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So there will necessarily be strings attached to any economic support it might think fit to give which, it is reasonable to surmise, will also be of the 'breadline' variety.
Opinion Source: Delivering summaries of editorial and op-ed pieces from major papers by email. 2008
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DEBT DEFAULT TIP: Misdirection is a great way to cut the breadline.
HUFFPOST HILL - That Crashing Sound You Hear Is Your Portfolio Eliot Nelson 2011
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February is seldom a month to bring many people much cheer but this year for Championship clubs on the breadline, it will be tougher than ever.
Chelsea's £50m deal for Fernando Torres worries Uefa | Digger 2011
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It's often said that Santiago Sierra's art is shocking, not because he's had junkies tattooed in exchange for a hit, or paid people living on the breadline to hide inside sculptures around which his collectors sip drinks.
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For example, the youth contract announced last week may be subsidised by reducing the working family tax credit of families where many are working on the breadline, a move described by Tony Wilson of the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion as "robbing Peter to pay Paul".
Recovery depends on healing a divided nation | Observer editorial 2011
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And so, while widespread job cuts and the soaring cost of basics such as food and fuel are making life impossibly tough for many thousands of people on the breadline, footloose bankers and hedge fund managers are busily arguing that the 50p top tax rate is such an imposition that they're considering upping sticks and moving to Switzerland.
bilby commented on the word breadline
A few of these examples suggest some conflation with poverty line, eg.
"If you listen to what the Rowntree Foundation calls the breadline you might be amazed at what they consider the bare necessities."
January 28, 2016