on the level
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Honest and sincere in whatever one is doing or saying. A term from Free- masonry.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “on the level” mean?
Honest and sincere in whatever one is doing or saying. A term from Free- masonry.
Is “on the level” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.