Meaning of Idiom ‘Know Which Side Your Bread is Buttered On’
To know which side your bread is buttered on means to know what is good for you; to know where you’re best interests lie; to know where you have an advantage; to know who to please to avoid trouble or to maintain a good situation.
If you bite the hand that feeds you, then you don’t know which side your bread is buttered on.
Usage Notes
This idiom is frequently misused to mean ‘know what you are doing or have common sense.’ For example, “He was just an old country doctor, but he knew which side his bread was buttered on.”
Sentence Examples
“My college adviser wanted me to criticize the people running my internship but I know which side my bread is buttered on. They want to give me a job!”
“He doesn’t care about what’s happening to the workers. He knows which side his bread is buttered and he’s not about to jeopardize his relatively privileged position.”
“His lawyers told him that if he know which side his bread was buttered on, he would not testify before the grand jury.”
“He wasn’t a great solider but he knew which side his bread was buttered on and followed orders just closely enough to remain under the radar.”
Origin
Used since the 1500s.
The buttered side of the bread is, of course, the good size. We only butter one side so one side is always better than the other, hence the allusion in this idiom.
More Idioms Starting with K
- Kick the Tires
- Know Something Like the Back Of One’s Hand
- Know Where One Stands
- Keep a Lookout Meaning
- Keep an Eye Out Meaning
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- Like Shooting Fish in a Barrel
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- Like Taking Candy From a Baby
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