I am trying to answer a question from a library patron who remembers the entire phrase, "bread is" that she and her friends used in the 1960s. She accepts that "bread" was used for money or "dough," another slang word. However she remembers use of the entire phrase, "bread is."
1 Answer
According to my uncle, who was a university student in the 1960s, "bread is" is a shortened form of the old proverb, "Bread is the staff of life."
According to the Facts On File Dictionary of Proverbs, this proverb was first recorded in 1638.
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2@Kris No, "bread is" was shorthand for "bread is the staff of life," referring to bread in both the literal (foodstuff) and figurative (money) sense.– GnawmeCommented Dec 30, 2011 at 6:53
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1I can't come up with a usage of the abbreviated phrase that doesn't sound frankly awful. Can you give an example of actual usage?– MarthaªCommented Dec 30, 2011 at 15:36
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4@Marthaª Many slang terms sound frankly awful out of one's era or generation. ("Word.") According to my uncle, usage went something like: "Well, off to work for The Man." [Rueful shake of the head.] "Well, bread is, brother."– GnawmeCommented Dec 30, 2011 at 17:37
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1@Gnawme, the library patron appreciated confirmation that others were familiar with this phrase.– CherylCommented Jan 6, 2012 at 23:30
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2I don't know if it's connected, but Robert A. Heinlein's novel "Stranger in a Strange Land" was pretty popular in the '60s counterculture, and one of its catchphrases was "Waiting is." Commented Sep 19, 2016 at 22:11
"bread is she|if"and"hey|wow|man bread is he|said"at Google Books yield nothing relevant.