win one's spurs

Gain a position or attain distinction through hard work or some special accomplishment. For example, After two years of freelancing, she won her spurs as a programmer and was hired for the top job . This expression originally alluded to being knighted for some act of bravery and was being used figuratively by the mid-1500s.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Tovia	-	Hebrew
Neriah	ni-RIE-ə (English), nee-RIE-ə (English)	Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Atanasije	-	Serbian
Sive	SIEV	Irish
Mao (2)	MAW	Limburgish
Otakar	-	Czech