Word.ws English Dictionary

a little bit of bread and no cheese

Syllables: a lit·tle bit of bread and no cheeseUK/ə ˌlɪtl̩ ˈbɪt‿əv ˈbɹɛd‿n̩ nəʊ ˈt͡ʃiːz/US/ə ˈlɪt(ə)l ˈbɪt‿əv ˈbɹɛd‿n̩ noʊ ˈt͡ʃiz/

a little bit of bread and no cheese interjection: used to represent the song of the yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella).

Interjection

  1. (UK, idiomatic) Used to represent the song of the yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella).
    • The song of the yellow-hammer consists of little more than a monotone, repeated quickly several times, some emphasis being laid on the last note, which is also uttered at greater length. It is almost the only bird whose note is heard in the heat of a summer's day. The cow-boys in some parts of the...1839 July 13, “British Birds”, in The Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, volume VIII, number 467, London: Charles Knight & Co., […], →OCLC, page 266, column 1
    • In Devonshire it [the yellowhammer] goes by the names of "Little-bread-and-no-cheese," and "Gladdy." Of the latter name I do not know the origin; that of the former is clear enough; for if the words "A little bit of bread and no cheese" be chanted rapidly in one note, descending at the word...1862, C[harles] A[lexander] Johns, “The Yellow Hammer. Emberíza citrinella.”, in British Birds in Their Haunts, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; […], →OCLC, page 192

Examples of a little bit of bread and no cheese in a sentence

  • [T]he yellowhammer, who also had words as well as tune, sang his refrain of "a little bit of bread and no cheese," with a tremendous emphasis on the no; […]1875, [Walter Besant, James Rice], chapter VIII, in With Harp and Crown. […], volume I, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 139:
  • "A little bit of bread and no cheese!" cry the yellowhammers petulantly.1931 May 20, Louis Golding, “A Rosary of Lovely Places”, in The Commonweal: A Weekly Review of Literature, the Arts and Public Affairs...
  • In Europe the song of the Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) can be heard, with a little poetic licence, as ‘a little bit of bread and no cheese’, the Quail (Coturnix coturnix) as ‘wet my lips’.2015, Nick Baker, “Feathered and Flighty: Birds”, in The Complete Naturalist, London; New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury Natural History...

Origin of a little bit of bread and no cheese

Onomatopoeic; the bird’s song is thought to resemble the rhythm of the phrase.

Words that rhyme with a little bit of bread and no cheese

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about a little bit of bread and no cheese

What does a little bit of bread and no cheese mean?
A little bit of bread and no cheese means used to represent the song of the yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella).
How do you use a little bit of bread and no cheese in a sentence?
[T]he yellowhammer, who also had words as well as tune, sang his refrain of "a little bit of bread and no cheese," with a tremendous emphasis on the no; […]
What part of speech is a little bit of bread and no cheese?
A little bit of bread and no cheese is an interjection.
How do you pronounce a little bit of bread and no cheese?
A little bit of bread and no cheese is pronounced /ə ˌlɪtl̩ ˈbɪt‿əv ˈbɹɛd‿n̩ nəʊ ˈt͡ʃiːz/ (UK).

Words near a little bit of bread and no cheese in the dictionary

  1. A lists
  2. a little
  3. a little bird told me
  4. a little birdie told me
  5. a little bit
  6. a little bit of bread and no cheese
  7. a little from column A and a little from column B
  8. a little from column A, a little from column B
  9. a little goes a long way
  10. a little knowledge is a dangerous thing
  11. a little learning is a dangerous thing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: a little bit of bread and no cheese (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-a little bit of bread and no cheese.ogg.

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