Question

to keep the lid on something - The government tried to keep the lid on their plans to ban reduce spending on schools, but they were unsuccessful.  - There will be trouble if you don't keep the lid on it.  - He is a bit of a show-off and has a tendency to erupt at times but he managed to keep the lid on it.  - There is a silent, secret but nonetheless deadly partnership between the drug lords and the bankers. How long can the capitalist government keep the lid on this?

Accepted Answer

to keep something secret; to keep something from getting out of control This idiom is often used in its alternative form to put the lid on something. (A lid is the flat object that is put on top of a pot.)

Idiom	to keep the lid on something
Definition	to keep something secret; to keep something from getting out of control
Examples	- The government tried to keep the lid on their plans to ban reduce spending on schools, but they were unsuccessful. - There will be trouble if you don't keep the lid on it. - He is a bit of a show-off and has a tendency to erupt at times but he managed to keep the lid on it. - There is a silent, secret but nonetheless deadly partnership between the drug lords and the bankers. How long can the capitalist government keep the lid on this?
Note	This idiom is often used in its alternative form to put the lid on something. (A lid is the flat object that is put on top of a pot.)

Lid Government Put Secret Control Plans Ban Reduce