even [OE] In the sense ‘flat and smooth’, even is an Old English word. Even as in evening [OE] is from a different Old English word, one related to German Abend ‘afternoon’. An even break, meaning ‘a fair chance’, was popularized by the American comedian W. C. Fields (1886–1946) in his catchphrase, ‘Never give a sucker an even break’, which itself went on to become the title of one of his best-known films. There does not seem to have been a real Stephen, just the rhyme behind the phrase even Stephen or even Stephens, meaning ‘completely even or equal’. It appears to have originated in the USA in the mid 19th century, but may have been around for longer as we find in the Journal to Stella by Jonathan Swift: ‘Now we are even, quoth Stephen’ (1711), and there is something similar from 1809. If a ship is on an even keel [E17th], it is not tilting to the side. The keel is the supporting structure along the base of a ship; even here it is in the old sense ‘in a level position, horizontal’.