knows which side one's bread is buttered on
Understands personal advantage
To know which side one's bread is buttered on is to understand where your advantages lie and act accordingly.
The phrase suggests practical self-interest—staying loyal to whoever provides your income, security, or favor: He won't criticize the boss; he knows which side his bread is buttered on.
Often implies shrewdness rather than principle.
- advantageFavorable position or circumstance
- benefitAdvantage or gain
- profitGain exceeding expenditure
- shrewdnessKeen practical judgment
- gainPositive return received
strategy · playing the game · currying favor · prudence · resourcefulness · calculation · self-preservation · opportunism · discernment · reading the room · kissing up · brown nosing · insight · sycophancy · judgment · alliances · adaptability · planning
knows which side one's bread is buttered onnaive
Innocently unsuspecting
idealistic · shoots oneself in the foot · clueless · oblivious · unworldly
knows which side one's bread is buttered onprincipled
Having strong moral beliefs
incorruptible · uncompromising · bites the bullet · falls on one's sword · idealist
knows which side one's bread is buttered ontone-deaf
Cannot perceive pitch differences
tactless · maladroit · green · wet behind the ears · born yesterday
know, knows, knew, known, knowing, knowingly, knowledge, knowledgeable, unknowing