earn keep

earn one's keep

to help out with chores in return for food and a place to live; to earn one's pay by doing what is expected. I earn my keep at college by shoveling snow in the winter. Tom hardly earns his keep around here. He should be fired.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Feliks	fye-LEEKS (Russian), fee-LEEKS (Russian), FE-leeks (Polish)	Russian, Slovene, Polish
Olufemi	-	Western African, Yoruba
Ratnam	-	Indian, Telugu
Conchita	[kɔ:n'tʃi:ta:]
Unathi	-	Southern African, Xhosa
Jaroslav	-	Czech, Slovak