Phrase guide

know which side one's bread is buttered on

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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verb

Meaning 1

To be aware of where one's interests lie in a situation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Word forms

Inflections and variants

knows which side one's bread is buttered on — present, singular, third-person
knowing which side one's bread is buttered on — participle, present
knew which side one's bread was buttered on — past
knew which side one's bread is buttered on — past
known which side one's bread was buttered on — participle, past
known which side one's bread is buttered on — participle, past
know on what side one's bread is buttered — alternative
know on which side one's bread is buttered — alternative
know what side one's bread is buttered on — alternative
know what side of one's bread is buttered — alternative
know what side of the bread is buttered — alternative
know which side of one's bread is buttered — alternative
know which side of the bread is buttered — alternative

Word family

Derived and related words

Derived: none provided

Related: butter one's bread on both sides

Semantic map

Other relationships

Sources

Where this information comes from

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