Dough or bread—These words have long been slang for “money.” Dough first appeared as a slang term for “money” in 1851, bread not until the 1930s or 1940s. Breadwinner, though, dates all the way back to 1818.7 It takes money to buy bread, so it’s easy to see how this usage came about. Think also of the expression/warning “knowing where your bread is buttered”—that is, the source of your livelihood.
