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

Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase house husband—a man who stays at home while his
spouse works outside the home: John tried being the house
husband for some years, but I’d prefer not to give up my
work.
man of the house —the chief male in a household: Look at
him! The man of the house! Why don’t you talk to me? I’m
your wife, aren’t I? Cf.: little man of the house — said of a child
who is the top male of the household: “Little man of the house,”
his grandmother said, chuckling. Vince was four years old
when his father split.
house master • master of the house
house master— a teacher in charge of one of the boarding-
houses in a school: Where senior house masters exist … they
should be able to exercise an effective supervision over the
boys in their care.
master of the house —male head of a household: During
meals, when he was not serving or pouring, the Butler stood
behind the chair of the master of the house.
Note: 
The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the
phrase master of one’s own house— a person who manages his
household affairs without interference from others: I shall let my
wife and daughters know, that I will be master of my own
house.
householder • housekeeper
householder —
1
. an owner or renter of a house: The inspec-
tion techniques used were explained to the householder so
that he could carry out future inspections on his own. 2. the
head of a family: A family consists of a householder and one
or more other persons living in the same household who are
related to the householder.
housekeeper —
1
. a person employed to do household main-
tenance tasks: With my additional income I hired a house-
keeper to do my laundry and keep the house in order. 2. smb.
who takes care of his own house and its residents: We found
out my husband is a wonderful housekeeper, better than I am
at it, and it was actually kind of fun.