breadline
Waiting for handouts
A breadline is a queue of people waiting to receive free food, typically bread, from a charity or government agency during times of economic hardship.
The image of breadlines became iconic during the Great Depression.
The phrase on the breadline means living in poverty, barely able to afford basic necessities: Many families are just one paycheck away from the breadline.
Extreme poverty, lacking necessities
- indigenceExtreme poverty, total want
- impoverishmentState of extreme deprivation
- penuryExtreme lack of money
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
homelessness · hunger · want · squalor · underprivileged · disenfranchised · inequality · desperation
Minimal means of living
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- malnutritionDisease from dietary inadequacy
- hand-to-mouthConsuming resources immediately
scarcity · meager · desperate · struggling · day-to-day
Voluntary aid for others
- welfareComfort and prosperity
- reliefEasing of distress
- assistanceSupport or aid given
- handoutFree distribution to recipients
donation · philanthropy · benevolence · alms · shelter · outreach · mission
Being without paid work
- despairTotal absence of hope
- joblessnessState without paid work
- down-and-outLacking all resources
- 1930sFourth decade, twentieth century
Remaining in expectation
- lineupOrdered list of participants
- queueingWaiting in order
- crowdLarge public gathering
- rationFixed allotted amount
distribution · serving · portion · shuffle · patience · orderly · single-file · block-long
destitution
Extreme poverty, lacking necessities
- indigenceExtreme poverty, total want
- impoverishmentState of extreme deprivation
- penuryExtreme lack of money
hardship · homelessness · hunger · want · squalor · underprivileged · disenfranchised · inequality · desperation · penniless
subsistence
Minimal means of living
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- malnutritionDisease from dietary inadequacy
hand-to-mouth · scarcity · meager · desperate · struggling · day-to-day
charity
Voluntary aid for others
- welfareComfort and prosperity
- reliefEasing of distress
- assistanceSupport or aid given
handout · donation · philanthropy · benevolence · alms · shelter · outreach · mission
unemployment
Being without paid work
- despairTotal absence of hope
- joblessnessState without paid work
- down-and-outLacking all resources
1930s · shantytown · WPA
waiting
Remaining in expectation
ration · distribution · serving · portion · shuffle · patience · orderly · single-file · block-long · winding
- hard timeshardship, struggle, struggling, unemployment, tough times
- soup kitchensoup kitchen, free meals, ladles, volunteers, food donations
- wealth statuspoor, rich, wealthy, affluent, middle-class
- Soviet UnionKremlin, Lenin, Stalin, KGB, Sputnik
- Depression EraGreat Depression, Hooverville, dust storms, soup kitchen, New Deal
- faminestarvation, mass starvation, hunger, famine victims, crop failure
breadlinefeast
Elaborate ceremonial meal
banquet · abundance · gourmet dining · fine dining · caviar