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

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.