THE IDIOM COLLECTION LEARN & PRACTISE
Keep body and soul together
Understand the meaning. See it in context. Make it yours.
01 / UNDERSTAND
Meaning in plain English
Manage to stay alive by obtaining the basic things needed to live.
02 / SEE IT IN CONTEXT
The expression in a sentence
- During that difficult year, small repair jobs helped him keep body and soul together.
03 / CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Quick idiom quiz
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Can you recall the expression?
Complete the example using the expression from this lesson.
During that difficult year, small repair jobs helped him ________.
Show the answer
Keep body and soul together — Manage to stay alive by obtaining the basic things needed to live.
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Make it yours
Write one sentence using “Keep body and soul together” about your own life.
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Does your sentence match this meaning?
Manage to stay alive by obtaining the basic things needed to live.
Compare: During that difficult year, small repair jobs helped him keep body and soul together.
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More ways to understand and use it
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When to use it
Use this expressive phrase when discussing a very basic living, often with barely enough income for necessities. It can sound dramatic and is not a neutral description of being comfortable.
More examples in context
- The narrator takes temporary work to keep body and soul together.
- Her early earnings were barely enough to keep body and soul together.
Usage note
Keep the fixed wording without “a” before “body” or “soul”. The phrase usually concerns basic survival or earning enough to live, rather than spiritual beliefs.
A short conversation
A: How did the artist support herself before her first exhibition?
B: She took evening shifts to keep body and soul together.
A: That must have left little time for painting.
One more practice question
If earnings barely keep body and soul together, what do they provide?
A. Enough for frequent luxuries and a large surplus.
B. Just enough for basic living needs.
Check your answer
B. The phrase refers to sustaining life, often with limited resources.
Related lessons
Meaning and usage checked against Dictionary.com. Explanations, examples and conversation are original.