keep it between the ditches
Maintain your course
Keep it between the ditches means to stay on course and out of trouble, drawn from the image of driving a car on a road flanked by drainage ditches.
The phrase serves as casual parting advice—stay safe, don't veer off track: Take care and keep it between the ditches.
Common in American Southern and rural speech.
- roadVehicle travel surface
- steeringControlling direction of movement
- focusConcentrated attention point
- cautionCareful attention to risk
- white knuckleCausing tense fear
eyes on the road · lane · restraint · prevention · perseverance · prudence · balance · determination · composure · stability · steady · slow and steady · mindfulness · stay the course · straight and narrow · vigilance · moderation · turn
keep it between the ditchesgo off the rails
lose control · fly off the handle · go haywire · come unglued · swerve
keep it between the ditchesstray from the path
go astray · wander off · drift · miss the mark · get lost
keep it between the ditchesthrow caution to the wind
Act recklessly, disregarding consequences
live dangerously · live on the edge · go wild · play with fire · tempt fate
keeper, keepers, keeping, keepsake, keepsakes, between, betwixt, ditches, ditched