Begging his bread

Question

Hola a todos nuevamente.

Me gustaría saber su opinión frente a la traducción del elemento resaltado en esta frase:

Mussolini gave part of his time to his books and the rest of it to begging his bread and writing articles ofr socialist newspapers.

Me está costando bastante encontrar una buena traducción para esa frase (y entender realmente a qué se refiere). Quizá algún nativo pueda ayudarme

Answer 1

Mussolini gave part of his time to his books and the rest of it to begging his bread and writing articles for socialist newspapers.

Me está costando bastante encontrar una buena traducción para esa frase (y entender realmente a qué se refiere). Quizá algún nativo pueda ayudarme

This is probably from when he was a young man. It literally means mendigando or pidiendo plata, but in this case he wasn't literally standing on a street corner holding a cup. It probably means that he was doing low-paying jobs and earning just enough to make a living, rather than actually begging for money.

Answer 2

I see! Thanks a lot!!

Answer 3

A possibility, using "bread" as well: "ganándose el pan como podía y escribiendo artículos..."