to live on bread and water, to subsist on nothing
Nur sehr wenig zu essen haben; in großer Armut leben.
To have very little to eat due to extreme poverty.
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Nach dem Verlust seiner Arbeit musste er zeitweise bei Wasser und Brot sitzen.— After losing his job, he had to subsist on bread and water for a while.
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Früher saßen viele Familien in der Stadt bei Wasser und Brot.— In the past, many families in the city lived on nothing but bread and water.