"Bread and butter" is a superstitious blessing or charm, typically said by young couples or friends walking together when they are forced to separate by an obstacle, such as a pole or another person. By saying the phrase, the bad luck of letting something come between them is thought to be averted. Both walkers must say the phrase, and if they do not do this, then a bitter quarrel is expected to occur. The concept derives from the difficulty of separating butter from bread once it has been spread – buttered bread cannot be "unbuttered". Another phrase which may be used in this way is "salt and pepper".
Famous quotes containing the words bread and/or butter:
“no picture is made to endure nor to live with
but it is made to sell and sell quickly
with usura, sin against nature,
is thy bread ever more of stale rags
is thy bread dry as paper,”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
“The matter of fees is important, far beyond the mere question of bread and butter involved. Properly attended to, fuller justice is done to both lawyer and client.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)