earn one's keep
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Also, be worth one's keep or salt. Work well enough to deserve what one is paid, as in Get a job—it's time you earned your keep, or With that batting average he's not worth his salt. The keep in this phrase refers to “room and board,” which in former times sometimes constituted the only reward for working (on a farm, in a home, etc.). The salt stands for “salary” and alludes to the ancient Roman practice of paying soldiers an allowance to buy salt. [First half of 1800s]
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Words nearby earn one's keep
earnest money, earnestness, earnings, earnings per share, Earnings Related Supplement, earn one's keep, earn one's stripes, EAROM, Earp, earphone, earpiece
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.