keep one's head

present singular third person keeps one's head · participle present keeping one's head · participle past kept one's head · past kept one's head · alternative keep one's head on one's shoulders

1. idiomaticTo remain calm, reasonable, level-headed, especially in a situation likely to cause distress.

   If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . .

   1895, Rudyard Kipling, If—

   2 more examples

   The ruffian kept his head, and though the dog's teeth were in his shoulder, he managed to get his right hand free.

   1910, John Buchan, chapter 16, in Prester John

   Officials are calling the woman a hero for keeping her head and finding the only way out amid the panic of the smoke and flames.

   2008 March 7, “Mother Throws 7 Kids Out Window To Save Them From Fire”, in CityNews, Canada, retrieved 12 Dec 2009