Earn your keep là gì

earn one's keep

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]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

To perform sufficient work or help in exchange for money or housing. If you're going to live here rent-free, then you need to earn your keep by helping out with the cooking and cleaning. That boarder earns his keep by doing maintenance in the building.

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

This idiom dates back to the 1800s. The word keep in this expression means room and board. In the past, it was common for people to work for room and board rather than money, especially on farms. Earn has the same meaning in the expression as it always does, to gain something in exchange for work.

Nowadays, people can use this idiom to refer to earning money, but it still often retains the connotation of room and board.

Since this expression is quite direct, many people consider it rude. If you want to tell someone that he or she needs to do more work, earn your keep is not the most polite way to do so. One common example of this idiom is when parents say this to lazy children.

Examples of Earning Your Keep

Ted: I accepted a job that gave me a position as the director of a department. It sounded like a dream job. I’d get to still teach, which I love doing, and also write curriculum which I always wanted to do. I’d also get to help form policies for the school. In addition to my salary, the job offered me room and board.

Rufio: That’s great! Do you love the job?

Ted: No, it’s a nightmare! I work 12 – 14 hour days almost every day. And, yesterday, the CEO told me that I wasn’t earning my keep! If he really thinks that, I don’t know what else I can do to convince him I’m worth what he is paying me. I can’t work any harder. I need to sleep!

Zayna: Since I lost my job, I had to move into my parents’ house. I thought they would be more supportive of me, but they told me that I would have to earn my keep by doing all of their housekeeping for them. Honestly, I would have done that regardless, but I’m a little annoyed that they ordered me to do it.

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishearn your/its keepearn your/its keepEARN a) to do jobs in return for being given a home and food  We older children were expected to earn our keep. b) to be useful enough to be worth the time or money spent  These aircraft are still earning their keep. → earnExamples from the Corpusearn your/its keep• As the illustration shows, even if you just use the Family Rail Card once, it will earn its keep.

What are these?

The guest host immediately contradicted (phủ nhận) Washington: "That’s not a chore (việc vặt)," Jackson said. "A chore is like sweeping (quét) the driveway, taking the garbage out, something to earn your keep."

As with all good things, however, there are a few caveats (cho biết trước). First of all, you can't just sit there in cloud of Cheetos dust while slipping in and out of consciousness. To earn your keep, Dish will provide you with a checklist of common tropes that may encounter in any of the roughly 45 episodes you choose to watch.

Put yourself in a room with them, and they will make you work, they will make you earn your keep, for the privilege of their company.