THE BREAD BOARD

This bread board sitting in an old pine bread-making tray has a traditional motto carved into its surface.

The board says 'Waste Not', which is part of the saying 'Waste Not, Want Not'. It is to remind the user of the board not to be wasteful when cutting slices of bread!

Although we now use 'want' to indicate we desire something, 

in expressions such as- 'I want a cake'. (although actually it is more polite to say that you 'would like' a cake) 

in the past it was used to mean 'to be in need' of something. In other words if you waste lots of bread you will soon become poor.

Bread is also sometimes used as a slang term for money and you will certainly be poor if you waste lots of that too!