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

hold out • keep out
hold out—
1
. (of food supplies, etc.) remain available; last: We
have to cut our rations to try to make the food hold out till
succor comes. 2. (of perishable products) remain fit for con-
sumption or use: How long could the food hold out without
refrigeration? 3. refuse to yield or submit: If we could hold
out that long, we can hold out another couple of years.
keep out—stay outside; remain at a distance from smth.: We
noticed a small fenced off area…. Signs warned us to keep
out, but curiosity got the better of me.
hold someone up • keep someone up
hold someone up —
1
. support a person physically; hold smb.
upright: It took both of us to hold up the old man. 2. rob
smb. using violence or threats: In Japan you won’t need to
worry too much about being held up in the street and being
robbed of your passport. 3. (hyperbolic) overcharge a person:
I don’t eat at that restaurant anymore. They really held me up
the last time I ate there. 4. detain a person; make smb. late:
The traffic on the expressway held me up yesterday.
keep someone up —
1
. = hold someone up 
1
: I could barely stand
up myself, but I managed to keep up Ann until we got out of
the smoke-filled room. 2. prevent smb. from going to bed;
keep a person awake: “I hope I’m not keeping you up.” “No,
we often keep up late.”
See also: keep someone down / keep someone under.
hold someone up as an example • make an
 example of someone
hold someone up as an example —point out smb. as a good
example: I was embarrassed when the supervisor held me up
as an example of good time-keeping.
make an example of someone —punish a person severely as a
warning to other people: It was decided to make an example
of some of the top conspirators.