keep

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

Food; subsistence; keeping. In a letter to his brother, Bishop Heber, speaking of Bishops' College costing so much, says:

Besides it has turned out so expensive in the monthly bills and necessary keep of its inmates, that my resources, &c.--Vol. II. p. 319.

The cottager either purchased hay for the keep [of the cow], or paid for her run in the straw-yard.--Edinburgh Review, Vol. LXI. p. 245.

TO KEEP

The phrase to keep shop is often shortened into to keep; as, 'Where do you keep now?' i. e. where is your place of business. Also, in the sense of dwelling, which use of the word is provincial in the eastern counties of England.

Related Words

Keep
·vt To have habitually in stock for sale. II. Keep ·noun That which is kept in charge; a charge. I...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
to keep
To inhabit. Lord, where do you keep? i.e. where are your rooms? ACADEMICAL PHRASE. Mother, your tit ...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
keep
to catch. Lane. ...

A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
keep
A strong donjon or tower in the middle of a castle, usually the last resort of its garrison in a sie...

The Sailor's Word-Book
hut-keep
v. to act as hut-keeper. 1865. S. Sidney, `Three Colonies of Australia,' p. 380 «At this, as well...

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
stock-keep
v. a quaint compound verb. 1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Colonial Reformer,' c. x. p. 96(1890): «`What ...

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
to keep company
To court. A common term in the interior parts of New England, applied to a man whose visits to a lad...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
keep off
To fall to a distance from the shore, or a ship, &c. (See offing.) ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
to keep it up
To prolong a debauch. We kept it up finely last night; metaphor drawn from the game of shuttle- cock...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
to keep it up
To prolong a debauch. 'He kept it up finely last night;' a metaphor drawn from a game of shuttlecock...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
keep her own
Not to fall off; not driven back by tide. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
keep your luff
An order to the helmsman to keep the ship close to the wind, i.e. sailing with a course as near as p...

The Sailor's Word-Book
keep the land aboard
Is to sail along it, or within sight, as much as possible, or as close as danger will permit. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
to keep a stiff upper lip
is to continue firm, unmoved. My friend, said he, don't cry for spilt milk; keep a stiff upper lip;...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
keep the pot a boiling
i. e. Don't let the game flag. A common expression among young people, when they are anxious to carr...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
keep a good hold of the land
Is to hug it as near as it can safely be done. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book