earn one's keep | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic)To performsatisfactoryphysicallaboror to provide otherworthyservicesin return forremuneration,lodging, or otherbenefits; tosupportoneselffinancially.Synonyms:earn one's corn,earn one's crust,carry one's weight;see alsoThesaurus:make a living1880,R. D. Blackmore, chapter 41, inMary Anerley: A Yorkshire Tale:Being a very strong, active man, with gift of versatile hand and brain, and early acquaintance with handicrafts, Christopher Bert couldearn his keep.2005July 1, Alan Riding, “A Curvy Klee Museum, Sprouting From the Swiss Hills”, inThe New York Times‎[1],→ISSN:Klee also left home to make his name, moving in his late teens to Munich, where he studied art,earned his keepas a musician and, in 1906, married Lily Stumpf.; (figurative)To beworthwhile.2021February,The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page55, column 2:The lack of bottom-end grunt presents as a particular problem in hilly terrain where the five-speed manual gearbox reallyearns its keep.

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