The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 plus 6 letter word BREAD AND BUTTER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
B
R
E
A
D
A
N
D
B
U
T
T
E
R
More clues leading to the result BREAD AND BUTTER
- Bacon brought home — what else for sandwiches?
- Subsistence in lodgings containing study, say
- Bit more than a crust earned?
- Money band wasted, say, providing basic source of income
- French stick with Billy to generate income
- Study, say, covered by B ‘n’ B giving livelihood
- ,5 Money with Ram, for daily necessities
- Standard of living
- Drab debutante dancing first part of rumba routine
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "basic source of income" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case basic source of income = bread and butter.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does BREAD AND BUTTER mean?
BREAD AND BUTTER adjective- Relating to basic sustenance or the requirements for everyday living.
- A general saying used to ward off bad luck
- A saying specifically used to ward off bad luck when separating hands to walk either side of a tree