"keep one's nose clean" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "keeps one's nose clean",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "keeping one's nose clean",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kept one's nose clean",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kept one's nose clean",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "keep<,,kept> one's nose clean"
      },
      "expansion": "keep one's nose clean (third-person singular simple present keeps one's nose clean, present participle keeping one's nose clean, simple past and past participle kept one's nose clean)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1947, American Correctional Association, American Journal of Correction, page 6",
          "text": "They tell us, \"Keep your nose clean and you'll no doubt make a parole.\" So we keep our noses very clean.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 November 5, Nathan Thornburgh, “Ted Stevens Sins, and (Likely) Wins”, in Time, retrieved 2013-08-25",
          "text": "Alaska Congressman Don Young . . . spent a huge share of his campaign donations on legal fees to keep his nose clean in the face of an FBI investigation into his dealings.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To stay out of trouble, especially by avoiding unlawful behavior."
      ],
      "id": "en-keep_one's_nose_clean-en-verb-5NQ~TZm8",
      "links": [
        [
          "trouble",
          "trouble"
        ],
        [
          "unlawful",
          "unlawful"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To stay out of trouble, especially by avoiding unlawful behavior."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-keep one's nose clean.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6e/En-au-keep_one%27s_nose_clean.ogg/En-au-keep_one%27s_nose_clean.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/En-au-keep_one%27s_nose_clean.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "keep one's nose clean"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "keeps one's nose clean",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "keeping one's nose clean",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kept one's nose clean",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kept one's nose clean",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "keep<,,kept> one's nose clean"
      },
      "expansion": "keep one's nose clean (third-person singular simple present keeps one's nose clean, present participle keeping one's nose clean, simple past and past participle kept one's nose clean)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1947, American Correctional Association, American Journal of Correction, page 6",
          "text": "They tell us, \"Keep your nose clean and you'll no doubt make a parole.\" So we keep our noses very clean.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 November 5, Nathan Thornburgh, “Ted Stevens Sins, and (Likely) Wins”, in Time, retrieved 2013-08-25",
          "text": "Alaska Congressman Don Young . . . spent a huge share of his campaign donations on legal fees to keep his nose clean in the face of an FBI investigation into his dealings.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To stay out of trouble, especially by avoiding unlawful behavior."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "trouble",
          "trouble"
        ],
        [
          "unlawful",
          "unlawful"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To stay out of trouble, especially by avoiding unlawful behavior."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-keep one's nose clean.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6e/En-au-keep_one%27s_nose_clean.ogg/En-au-keep_one%27s_nose_clean.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/En-au-keep_one%27s_nose_clean.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "keep one's nose clean"
}