APAD: Know on which side your bread is buttered

7
7grizzly
楼主 (文学城)

Meaning:

   To be aware of which side of a conflict it is in your interests to be on.

 

Background:

   This proverbial saying is first found in John Heywood's 1546 glossary A

   Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe

   tongue:

 

     Thou farest to well (quoth he) but thou art so wood [crazy],

     Thou knowst not who doth ye harm, who doth ye good

     Yes yes (quoth she) for all those wyse words vttred,

     I knowe on whiche syde my breade is buttred.

 

   Heywood spent most of his working life at the court of the Tudor monarchs of

   England. The factionalism between the Protestant and Catholic supports was

   intense. It was certainly a time to be clear where one's interests lay and

   which horse to back - getting it wrong could be fatal. No better time to coin

   a phrase like `I know which side my bread is buttered'.

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I guess schizophrenia must be common in espionage circles, i.e., a good mole

must struggle often with where they belong and which side their loyalty lies.

In Ha Jin's novel "A Map of Betrayal," Gary Shang, the top Chinese spy,

graduated Tsinghua, followed the U.S. Army as a translator, then worked for the

CIA, had a second family in Virginia, and delivered vital intelligence to Mao

and Zhou throughout the Cold War before being exposed, a career spanning almost

40 years. Ditched by the motherland and facing an American court, he pleaded

that he loved both countries. Some might say he tried to have his bread buttered

on both sides. He was condemned and, 63 years old, killed himself in jail.

最西边的岛上
Ahh, the story of 金无怠. Knew it bf, but haven’t read the book
最西边的岛上
1 spy being betrayed by another, some think the death was
硅谷居士
金无怠的墓,就在我家附近的公墓里。
最西边的岛上
suspicious;-) never understand mind of a double/triple spy.
最西边的岛上
复杂可悲可气又可怜的人。唉
最西边的岛上
“ loved both countries”so he became aSpy? Make it make sense
7
7grizzly
A man inevitably changes as he grows. I can believe him:-)
7
7grizzly
It ain't so bad. Too many suffered worse.
永远老李
我知道一些人因反非法移民的角度成了床粉,结果床铺上台了砍了NIH的资金后导致某些床粉被LAYOFF

烤,面包上没抹黄油,而是抹了SHITS。哈哈哈。

MAGA

7
7grizzly
It must be a who's who cemetery.
最西边的岛上
Haha,I would believe more if he didn’t take pay 4 spying;-))
7
7grizzly
都是浮云
最西边的岛上
How pathetic. MAGA == FAFO ;-))
7
7grizzly
Why not? He worked hard for it.
永远老李
浮云?有那么轻巧吗?TARIFF的效果很快就出来了。大家一起享受TARIFF的福利
最西边的岛上
The Cambridge5 didn’t. Also he had a well paid job already.
7
7grizzly
Okay. Frankly I don't mind an iota but let's see :-)
7
7grizzly
You reminded me of reading about Philby again :-)
硅谷居士
Yeah. Steve Job is also buried there, without mark.
最西边的岛上
near Tesla HQ (move back from Texas?), interesting ... ...
暖冬cool夏
One likes to choose the side where the bread is buttered,
暖冬cool夏
forgetting you have to pay for it. Double faced spy ends a悲剧
最西边的岛上
Very true, one gets what one pays for :-)
最西边的岛上
"God has never loved a lying tongue" ;-)
7
7grizzly
反美是工作,赴美是生活 :-) Gary was not a DOUBLE-agent, by the way.
硅谷居士
Yes, in Palo Alto California.