housebroken
Trained to go outside to relieve themselves (said of domestic pets, primarily dogs).
All young puppies must eventually be housebroken.
in the doghouse
In disgrace or disfavor.
Our neighbor got in the doghouse with his wife by coming home drunk.
Jerry is in the doghouse because he dropped the ball, and the other team won because of that.
keep house
To do the necessary things in a household; do the cooking and cleaning.
Since their mother died, Mary and her brother keep house for their father.
keep house
play house
To live together without being married.
Bob and Nancy keep house these days.
keep open house
To offer hospitality and entertain those who come at any given time on a certain day or afternoon.
Beth and Charlie have a cottage by the lake where they keep open house on Saturday afternoons during the summer.
lady of the house
Female owner, or wife of the owner, of the house; the hostess.
"Dinner is served," the lady of the house announced to her guests.
light housekeeping
An arrangement in which an unmarried couple live together.
Are Joe and Sue married? - Oh, no, - it's just a case of light housekeeping.
lost cause
A movement that has failed and has no chance to be revived; a hopeless case, a person or situation having no hope of positive change.
Communism in Eastern Europe has become a lost cause.
It seems that Charles will never listen to our advice. I suppose it’s a lost cause.
The police searched for the missing girl for two weeks, but finally gave it up as a lost cause.
Children who have committed several crimes as teenagers and show no sorrow about their actions are generally lost causes.