staff

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at half-mast

1. At a position halfway up a flagpole. Most often used to describe a flag that has been lowered to honor a recently deceased person. After our former president died, flags were at half-mast all across the country. Flags on the campus are at half-mast after the headmaster's sudden death. We keep our flags at half-mast on that day every year, in remembrance of all those who died in the conflict.

2. At a lower position than is normal or acceptable. I had been walking around the office all morning before realizing that my zipper was at half-mast. When my daughter came home from the park, she was covered in dirt, and her ponytail was at half-mast. You won't catch anything holding your fishing pole at half-mast like that.

3. vulgar slang Of or having a partial erection (of the penis). Wow, I only caught a glimpse of my wife in that skimpy outfit and I'm already at half-mast! Ugh, it was so embarrassing—the teacher asked me to go to the blackboard, but I couldn't hide that I was at half-mast at the time!

at half-staff

1. At a position halfway up a flagpole. Most often used to describe a flag that has been lowered to honor a recently deceased person. After our former president died, flags were at half-staff all across the country. Flags on the campus are at half-staff after the headmaster's sudden death. We keep our flags at half-staff on that day every year, in remembrance of all those who died in the conflict.

2. At a lower position than is normal or acceptable. I had been walking around the office all morning before realizing that my zipper was at half-staff. When my daughter came home from the park, she was covered in dirt, and her ponytail was at half-staff. Dude, check your fly—your zipper's at half-staff.

3. vulgar slang Of or having a partial erection (of the penis). Wow, I only caught a glimpse of my wife in that skimpy outfit and I'm already at half-staff! Ugh, it was so embarrassing—the teacher asked me to go to the blackboard, but I couldn't hide that I was at half-staff at the time!

blue-collar staff

Members of the working class, especially manual laborers. The phrase refers to the collar of a laborer's typical uniform, in contrast to the "white collar" shirts that typically accompany formal dress. You'll have a hard time retaining blue-collar staff if you keep denying them raises. I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't help you here in the office. Blue-collar staff handle things like water leaks on the street. The CEO is a fool if he doesn't realize that the company would fall apart without its blue-collar staff!

bread is the staff of life

proverb One must eat in order to survive. I know you're trying to get a lot done today, but don't forget to eat—bread is the staff of life. I'm definitely not a foodie. As far as I'm concerned, bread is the staff of life, not something to get all that excited about. It's hard to remind yourself that bread is the staff of life when you're nauseous all the time. I sure hope this morning sickness lets up soon!

half-staff

1. A position halfway up a flagpole. After our former president died, flags were at half-staff all across the country. Flags on the campus are at half-staff after the headmaster's sudden death. We keep our flags at half-staff on that day every year, in remembrance of all those who died in the conflict.

2. By extension, a position that is lower than is normal or acceptable. I had been walking around the office all morning before realizing that my zipper was at half-staff. When my daughter came home from the park, she was covered in dirt, and her ponytail was at half-staff. Dude, check your fly—your zipper's at half-staff.

3. vulgar slang A partial erection (of the penis). Wow, just seeing my wife in that skimpy outfit was enough to get me to half-staff. Ugh, it was so embarrassing—the teacher asked me to go to the blackboard, but I couldn't hide that I was at half-staff at the time!

staff up

1. To hire the necessary members of staff. A lot of the retail shops around here staff up with temporary workers for the holiday rush.

2. To fill a business with employees or staff members. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "staff" and "up." The new restaurant is supposed to open in a week, but owners still haven't staffed it up completely.

the staff of life

Some critical necessity or basic staple. Said especially of staple foods like bread or rice. We want our employees to know that respectful discussion and debate are the staff of life around here. The widespread infection of potatoes—the staff of life in Ireland at the time—caused a nationwide famine that killed over a million people.

white-collar staff

Professionals whose work responsibilities do not include manual labor (i.e., like that of a so-called blue-collar worker). The name comes from the formal dress typically worn by such workers. You'll have a hard time retaining white-collar staff if you keep denying them raises.

at half-mast

and at half-staff

[of a flag] halfway up or down its flagpole. The flag was flying at half-mast because the general had died. Americans fly flags at half-staff on Memorial Day.

Bread is the staff of life.

Prov. Food is necessary for people to survive. Miranda likes to give money to charities that feed people. "Other services are important," she reasons, "but bread is the staff of life." Jill: Want to go to lunch with us, Bob? Bob: No. I must work on my novel while inspiration lasts. Jill: Don't forget to eat. Bread is the staff of life, you know.

at half-mast

Halfway up or down, as in The church bells tolled off and on all day and the flags were at half-mast. This term refers to placing a flag halfway up a ship's mast or flagpole, a practice used as a mark of respect for a person who has died or, at sea, as a distress signal. Occasionally the term is transferred to other objects, as in Tom's pants were at half-mast as he raced around the playground, or The puppy's tail was at half-mast. [First half of 1600s]

staff of life

A staple or necessary food, especially bread. For example, Rice is the staff of life for a majority of the earth's people. This expression, which uses staff in the sense of "a support," was first recorded in 1638.

a skeleton ˈcrew/ˈstaff/ˈservice

the minimum number of staff necessary to run an organization or service: At weekends we have a skeleton staff to deal with emergencies.

See also: crew, service, skeleton, staff

the ˌstaff of ˈlife

(literary) a basic food, especially bread

staff of life, the

Bread; sometimes, by extension, any essential food. Understandably this term originated in the Bible (“the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread,” Isaiah 3:1). However, it was not until the eighteenth century that the staff of life was definitively identified with bread (prior to that it had often been corn, the British term for wheat). “Bread, dear brothers, is the staff of life,” wrote Jonathan Swift (A Tale of a Tub, 1704), and so it has remained.