coffee and cakes

English

Noun

coffee and cakes (uncountable)

1. (theater, slang) A meagre salary.
   • 1932, United States. Congress. Senate. Finance Committee, Revenue Act of 1932, Hearings:

     Most of our actors are working on the cooperative basis. Do you know what that means? It means you get part of it if it comes in, and in a lot of cases that means coffee and cakes.

   • 1945, Billboard, volume 57, number 34:

     Past jobs on air have paid coffee and cakes here.