earn
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earn (one's) spurs
To prove one's skill in a particular area. Once you've watched the triplets for an entire day, then you'll have earned your spurs as a caretaker, as far as I'm concerned. After getting my bachelor's degree, I earned my spurs as a teacher by working in underfunded urban schools.
earn (one's) stripes
To prove that one is deserving of a particular position or designation. I told the recruiter that I earned my stripes as a teacher before moving into administration.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
earn (one's)
spurs/stripes To gain a position through hard work and the accumulation of experience, often in the face of difficulties.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
- a penny saved is a penny earned
- better a dollar earned than ten inherited
- earn
- earn (one's) corn
- earn (one's) crust
- earn (one's) daily bread
- earn (one's) keep
- earn (one's) spurs
- earn (one's) stripes
- earn (one's) wings
- earn a crust
- earn a living
- earn a mint
- earn a packet
- earn a/your crust
- earn an honest buck
- earn an honest penny
- earn brownie points
- earn its keep
- earn keep
- earn one's keep
- earn one's stripes
- earn out
- earn spurs
- earn your corn
- earn your keep
- earn your spurs
- earn your stripes
- pay, earn, charge, etc. top dollar
- penny saved is a penny earned
- penny saved is a penny earned, a
- top dollar
- win (one's) spurs
- win/earn your spurs