keep a tight rein on

keep a tight rein on someone or something

and keep a close rein on someone or something

Fig. to watch and control someone or something diligently. (Alludes to controlling a horse by a tight grip on the reins.) The office manager kept a tight rein on the staff. Mary keeps a close rein on her children.

keep a tight rein on somebody/something

to control someone or something carefully Clarke has consistently pointed to the need to keep a tight rein on government finances. He kept a tight rein on his daughter.

keep a tight rein on somebody/something

also keep somebody/something on a tight rein

to have a lot of control over someone or something He made ends meet by keeping a tight rein on his budget. Our parents always kept us on a pretty tight rein.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Mamie	['meimi]
SimÃO	-	Portuguese
Xenia	-	Greek, Ancient Greek
Lysistrate	-	Ancient Greek
Mislav	-	Croatian, Medieval Slavic
Violeta	byo-LE-tah (Spanish)	Romanian, Spanish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Lithuanian