What it means
To mind the shop is to keep an eye on things and keep them running while whoever is normally in charge steps away. It comes straight from actual shopkeeping, watching the till and serving customers, but now it stretches to any setup, an office, a project or a household, left in your safe hands for a while.
Usage examples
"Can you mind the shop for ten minutes while I take this call outside?"
"You two mind the shop while I grab us all a coffee, back in five."
"I am nipping out for lunch, can you mind the shop for half an hour?"
"The boss is on holiday so young Dave is minding the shop this week."
"I’ve got to jump on another meeting, can you mind the shop and make sure nobody sets Slack on fire?"
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Where it comes from
It started as literal shop talk in Britain: if the owner stepped out, someone else had to mind the shop, watch the till, deal with customers, keep things steady. From there it spread into everyday English for covering any setup while the usual person in charge is away.
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