Recently, a controversy around Jim Martin, the company’s executive chair and former president (his son Tony is now president), and his family have consumers questioning which side the brand’s bread is buttered on.From the 2nd paragraph of this article at Today.com.
上記の文で、(know) which side one's bread is buttered (on)の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "(know) which side one's bread is buttered (on)" mean?
答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.
明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.
解答
意味：英辞郎によると、
一般的に、このイディオムはknowから始まってknow which side one's bread is buttered onになりますが、問題の見出しのように他の動詞に変更することも可能です。
- 何［だれ］が自分に役立つか知っている
- 利害に敏感である
Answer
According to Merriam-Webster:to know how to act or how to treat others in order to get what one wants
Examples
- He pretends to be impartial, but believe me, he knows which side his bread is buttered on.
- These chaps know what side their bread's buttered on.
- https://grammarist.com/idiom/know-which-side-your-bread-is-buttered-on/
- Democratic demographer Ruy Teixeira has a more prosaic explanation: “Not only are the police likely to vote Republican but the union is the mechanism to mobilize them… It’s about knowing which side your bread is buttered on.” (The Week Magazine)
- John gave his boss a gift last week because he knows which side his bread is buttered.
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