earn one's keep
verb1
Idiomatic To perform satisfactory physical labor or to provide other worthy services in return for remuneration, lodging, or other benefits; to support oneself financially.
- Being a very strong, active man, with gift of versatile hand and brain, and early acquaintance with handicrafts, Christopher Bert could earn his keep.1880, R. D. Blackmore, chapter 41, in Mary Anerley: A Yorkshire Tale:
- Klee also left home to make his name, moving in his late teens to Munich, where he studied art, earned his keep as a musician and, in 1906, married Lily Stumpf.2005 July 1, Alan Riding, “A Curvy Klee Museum, Sprouting From the Swiss Hills”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
2
Figuratively To be worthwhile.
- The lack of bottom-end grunt presents as a particular problem in hilly terrain where the five-speed manual gearbox really earns its keep.2021 February 23, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 55, column 2: