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
Cassidy	['kæsidi]
Gail	[geil]
Alonzo	[ə'lɔnzəu]
Valdemar	VAHL-de-mahr (Finnish)	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Folke	FOL-ke (Swedish)	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Mannix	-	Irish