A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

keep an open mind • open one’s mind
keep an open mind —(also: have an open mind) be free from
bias; avoid forming an opinion until one knows all the facts:
Detectives said they were keeping an open mind whether the
attacker is the same man.
open one’s mind —
1
. reveal one’s inmost thoughts or senti-
ments: The day before he was due to return to France, he
opened his mind to Emmie. 2. become receptive to smth. new
or different: You will have to open your mind more easily to
new ideas.
keep away from something • keep out of
 something
keep away from something —
1
. remain at a distance from
smth.: What we really want is for people to keep away from
the area. 2. avoid smth.: The day the sun comes out people
will hide under umbrellas just to keep away from the sun.
keep out of something —
1
. stay outside; not enter smth.: You
understand now why I concealed my name, and why I kept
out of the house. 2. = keep away from something 2: It is impor-
tant to remember to take water and find a place to keep out
of the sun for some of the time.
keep bad hours • keep bad time
keep bad hours —get up and go to bed late: She didn’t like
renting to young people because they kept bad hours and made
noise.
keep bad time —(of a clock or watch) show the hour incor-
rectly: You can tell your battery is dead if your computer’s
clock keeps bad time.
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keep bad hours

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keep body and soul together • keep oneself
 together
keep body and soul together —manage to survive; keep oneself
alive: They get poor as snakes on such food; but it does keep
body and soul together for a while.
keep oneself together —(also: hold oneself together) keep one’s
composure; maintain one’s good sense: I don’t know if I can
keep myself together through another horrible day like this
one.