practice: Write a line or two of it every day to keep your hand in . keep one’s hands off—stop touching or interfering with smth.: She knew she had to keep her hands off so he could learn to tie his shoes by himself. keep one’s head • keep one’s head up keep one’s head—retain self-control; remain sensible and practical: You can depend on him to keep his head no matter what happens. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase keep one’s head above water— make a living; manage to survive financially: In spite of all the reverses, he still manages to keep his head above water . keep one’s head up—(also: hold one’s head up) stay proud; not feel ashamed of oneself: I can keep my head up anywhere, knowing that I achieved something. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase keep one’s chin up— be courageous and determined under difficult circumstances: Tell Ken to keep his chin up and be as tough as he made out he was when he comes up against trou- ble. keep one’s lid on • keep the lid on someone keep one’s lid on—(coll.) keep one’s temper; be patient: Keep your lids on , folks; we’ll have this matter sorted out in just a few seconds. keep the lid on someone—suppress or “clamp down” on rebels, dissenters, etc.: You have the root problem of all colo- nials—the natives are restless and you can’t keep the lid on them. keep one’s mouth shut • not open one’s mouth keep one’s mouth shut—not talk about smth.; not reveal a secret: Keep your eyes skinned, there’s a good girl, and, inci- dentally, keep your mouth shut . not open one’s mouth—say nothing; remain silent: By the fact that she did not open her mouth , she acknowledged her guilt. keep one’s name on the books • see one’s name in print keep one’s name on the books—retain one’s membership in a club, etc.: He said he was not much of a Mason — he scarcely ever went; just kept his name on the books by paying up his dues. see one’s name in print—1. be a published author: “Pray, Anne,” said he, “did you ever experience the satisfaction of feeling how pleasant it is to see one’s name in print ?” 2. said of smb. who likes to be mentioned in media reports: We have received an amusing series of announcements from a corporate executive who likes to see his name in print . keep one’s pants on • wear the pants keep one’s pants on—(coll.) remain calm; keep one’s temper (also: keep one’s shirt on): Always remember to keep your pants on in times of stress. Note: The expression is not antonymous in meaning to the phrase catch someone with his pants down—(sl.) catch a person off guard: Rachel’s telephone call hadn’t caught me with my pants down . wear the pants—(also: wear the breeches) be the dominant partner in a marriage: Mrs. Harris wears the pants at home: Mr. Harris is far too quiet and easy-going to argue with her. keep one’s peace • keep the peace keep one’s peace—1. (also: hold one’s peace) refrain from argu- ing; remain silent: He told one lie after another, and it was only with the greatest effort that I was able to keep my peace . 2. (of a country) refrain from military action: Imperialism had a very small part in the history of Japan. Before that Japan kept its peace and hardly built any military power. keep the peace —1. preserve a peaceful state of affairs: In the American colonies, volunteer justices kept the peace before there were paid police. 2. = keep one’s peace 2: These costs of war are beyond calculation…. Most of this poverty could have been avoided had the country kept the peace . 3. prevent mil- itary conflicts: Britain had become the second largest contrib- utor of troops, working alongside the Canadians. The two countries kept the peace in Cyprus during thirty years. keep one’s pecker up • put someone’s pecker up keep one’s pecker up—(UK coll.) keep one’s spirits up: Charles could not eat, in spite of the rough kindness of one of the warders, who adjured him to keep his pecker up . put someone’s pecker up—(coll.) make smb. angry; put a per- son out of temper: He thinks he can do what he likes with me. I am not quite sure about that, if he puts up my pecker . keep one’s shirt on • lose one’s shirt keep one’s shirt on—(coll.) remain calm; keep one’s temper (also: hold one’s shirt): I told him to keep his shirt on , no matter what the provocation. lose one’s shirt—lose all one’s money (as a result of gambling, etc.): Everybody knows that John lost his shirt when that busi- ness he had invested in failed. keep oneself dark • keep someone in the dark keep oneself dark —be characterized by inconspicuous behav- ior; keep out of the public eye: He hid himself … kept himself dark , as he says, out of the way and out of the trial. keep someone in the dark—keep a person in ignorance about smth.: He is prepared to do things his own way and to keep everyone else in the dark as to what is happening. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase be dark on someone—(Austral. sl.) be angry or annoyed with a person: Dad’s going to be dark on me for getting home so late. keep someone at bay • keep the wolf at bay keep someone at bay—(also: hold someone at bay) maintain a safe distance from smb.; prevent a person from acting: These people come from sick, evil families and we good Americans are trying to keep them at bay . keep the wolf at bay—manage to make enough money to avoid going hungry or falling heavily into debt: An engineer can just about always survive by computer programming, so we kept the wolf at bay when I took a job in Houston. keep someone away from something • keep someone out of something keep someone away from something—1. cause a person not to come near smth.: The police used tear gas to keep the crowd away from the factory compound. 2. cause a person to avoid smth. harmful: I would never have imagined it would be so hard to keep her away from sweets. 3. cause a person to stay away from trouble or smth. dangerous: Parents play a crucial role in ensuring that teens are participating in activities that keep them away from drugs. Note: The expression does not fully correlate in meaning with the phrase keep someone back from something— = keep some- one away from something 1: We had a good view of the security staff struggling to keep the crowd back from the stage. keep someone out of something—1. cause a person not to enter smth.: Keeping him out of the building is the most reliable way of keeping him away from the data. 2. prevent a person from participating in smth.: Gilhooley has been a victim of serious injuries which have kept him out of the game. 3. = – 205 – keep someone away from something