What did Jimmy mean when he said Bud better be careful with his instrument because that was his “bread and butter”?

This quote appears about halfway through chapter 13. I would like to clarify that Mr. Jimmy does not say the bread and butter quote; Steady Eddie is the character that says the quote to Bud. A few paragraphs before, Mr. Jimmy informs the band members that Bud is going to be their guest for dinner at the Sweet Pea restaurant. Steady Eddie, the band's saxophone player, then tells Bud to help load the car. Steady Eddie isn't being mean spirited about it. He simply states that if Bud is being treated to dinner, the least he can do is help load the instruments into the car.

The sax man told me, "Come on, little man, if Mr. Jimmy's gonna spring for your supper the least you can do is help load the car. Grab that case over there and put it in the trunk of the Buick out back."

Steady Eddie specifically points out his saxophone case and tells Bud to be especially careful with it because it has his "bread and butter in there."

He pointed to a long skinny black suitcase that had a leather handle on top of it and said, "And be careful, that's my bread and butter in there."

Bud must look very confused because Steady Eddie then clarifies his meaning.

"That's my horn, my ax, my saxophone, the thing I make all my money with, so don't get butterfingers and drop it."

Steady Eddie is playing jazz music during the Great Depression. He's good enough to actually be making money doing it, too. Food was a scarce resource during this time, and Eddie quite literally needs money to buy himself food. Playing saxophone allows him to feed himself. His phrase is a figure of speech that tells Bud that his saxophone is his money making tool to buy things like food.


In chapter 13, Jimmy invites Bud to have dinner with them at the Sweet Pea, which is the best restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Before they leave for the restaurant, Steady Eddie asks Bud to help load the band's instruments into the trunk of their Buick. As Bud is about to pick up Steady Eddie's saxophone case, he tells Bud, "And be careful, that's my bread and butter in there" (Curtis, 96). Bud is initially confused by the comment, and Steady Eddie proceeds to tell Bud that playing the saxophone is how he makes all of his money. The phrase "bread and butter" is a commonly used idiom to describe a person's primary source of income. Steady Eddie is basically telling Bud to be careful handling his saxophone because if Bud accidentally breaks his instrument, he will not be able to make any money.

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