Under Control: English Vocabulary List

to start to organize oneself for better results and more efficiency

"He needs to get his act together at work."

"He needs to get his act together and start arriving on time if he wants to keep his job."

to regain control over one's emotions, particularly after a period of being upset or angry

"You need to pull yourself together."

"After crying for ten minutes she finally pulled herself together and finished her presentation."

to force oneself to stop behaving in an uncontrollable manner, particularly in face of a difficult or unexpected situation

"She needs to get a hold of herself."

"You need to get a hold of yourself and stop panicking because everything will be fine."

to start to act more organized in order to achieve better results and become more skillful or efficient

"Get your shit together before the meeting."

"The lazy student finally got his shit together and started studying for his exams."

to not say something, against one's wish, in order to avoid causing an argument or upsetting someone

"You should learn to bite your tongue."

"She wanted to tell him the truth but decided to bite her tongue and stay silent instead."

to get everything in order for something that is about to happen or one is going to do, particularly in order to avoid mistakes

"Get your ducks in a row first."

"Before launching the new product, the company needed to get their ducks in a row to ensure everything was perfectly organized."

to not say anything or immediately stop talking, particularly so as not to reveal a secret or make matters worse

"He buttoned his lip."

"You must button your lip about the surprise party if you don't want to ruin the fun."

no longer desiring something or feeling strong emotions about someone

"He needed to get the anger out of his system."

"After the breakup, she needed to get all the lingering sadness out of her system before moving on."

to control a situation and stop it from getting worse

"Keep a lid on the news for now."

"The government tried to keep a lid on the scandal but the newspapers found out anyway."

to make an effort to demonstrate a better behavior and treat others better

"He needs to clean up his act or he will get fired."

"After getting arrested twice the young man decided to clean up his act and find a job."

one's face when it is devoid of any signs of amusement, interest, or even sadness

"The comedian tells the absurd story with a straight face."

"The comedian tells the absurd story with a straight face and never breaks character even as the audience laughs."

to calm a tense situation with gentle or diplomatic action

"She poured oil on waters."

"The manager tried to pour oil on troubled waters when two employees started arguing loudly in the office."

to calmly cope with something that is difficult or disturbing

"She took it in stride."

"When she failed her driving test she took it in stride and immediately scheduled another lesson."

to sensibly react to something and not treat it as if it is more serious, severe, or important than it actually is

"Try to keep things in proportion."

"You failed one test so try to keep things in proportion because it is not the end of the world."

to stay calm and sensible in a stressful or difficult situation

"Keep a level head during tests."

"Even when everyone panicked, she managed to keep a level head and solved the problem calmly."

to get one's thoughts or feelings under control, particularly after experiencing something shocking or disturbing

"I need a moment to collect my thoughts."

"Before the big interview I took a few minutes to collect my thoughts in the waiting room."

the willpower to overcome one's problems or control one's physical condition

"It is a case of mind over matter."

"The marathon runner used mind over matter to ignore the pain and finish the race."

to stop behaving foolishly or recklessly and gain full control of one's emotions and thoughts

"She got a grip on herself quickly."

"After the embarrassing outburst at the meeting, he took a deep breath and finally got a grip on himself before speaking again."

to stay calm and think clearly, especially in challenging or stressful situations

"Keep your head in danger."

"It is important to keep your head when facing difficult situations at work or school."

(of a situation) completely under one's control

"The situation is in hand."

"With the project manager's firm guidance, the entire complex operation was finally in hand."

to control a situation and stop it from getting worse

"Keep a lid on the news."

"The company tried to keep a lid on the scandal to protect their public image."