The origin of the idiom "keep a lid on something" stems from the literal usage of lids on containers in the late 19th/early 20th century, as it was common practice to use tight-fitting lids to prevent contents from being spilled or seen. This simple act of securing a lid came to represent concealing what was inside in a metaphorical sense, and one of the earliest figurative usages referred to keeping secrets "under wraps" with a "tight lid," which then developed into newspaper uses by the 1900s employing the phrase such as "keeping a lid on the scandal" to denote suppressing details and maintaining secrecy about a covert matter. It is commonly invoked legally to suppress unflattering evidence or privately settled allegations.

What is the origin of the idiom "keep a lid on something" and when to use it?

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to [keep] a lid on {sth}

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Définition et signification de « keep a lid on something » en anglais

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