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Definition |
to stay out of trouble |
Examples |
1) The police warned him to keep his nose clean
or he would be arrested.
2) She always advised her children to keep
their noses clean and stay out of trouble. |
Etymology |
The term likely originated from the idea of
keeping one's nose free of dirt, which symbolically came to represent
avoiding wrongdoing. |
Synonyms |
stay aboveboard, keep a clean record |
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