know your place
Stay in line
Know your place is a command or principle urging someone to accept their position in a social hierarchy and not overstep it.
The phrase carries authoritarian overtones, often used to silence those who challenge authority or tradition: Women were told to know their place.
It can be used ironically or defiantly: I never learned to know my place.
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- social orderStructured arrangement of community
- deferenceYielding to another's judgment
- submissionYielding to another's will
- obedienceCompliance with authority
yes sir · rank · station · humble · subservient · boundaries · respect · authority · caste · old money · upper crust · pecking order · bow · bow down · kneel · inferior · superior · social ladder
- powerauthority, electric power, nuclear power, solar power, wind power
- scoldingscold, scolding, rebuke, berate, reprimand
know your placespeak up
Talk louder or opine
speak your mind · step out of line · fight back · push back · talk back
know your placereach for the stars
Pursue ambitious goals
aim high · climb the ladder · be ambitious · rise above · dream big
know your placerock the boat
Disturb a stable situation
make waves · step out of line · cross the line · break the mold · rebel
know, place, knows, known, knowing, knowingly, unknown, knowledge, knowledgeable