be on the level

be on the level

To be honest, trustworthy, and genuine. My daughter's fiancé is a very respectable fellow, and his actions are always on the level.

See also: level, on

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

on the level, to be

Honest, straightforward, and sincere. An American colloquialism originating in the late nineteenth century, this term may have come from Freemasonry, in which the carpenter’s level symbolizes integrity. Ngaio Marsh used it in a 1936 novel (Death in Ecstasy), “He’s on the level all right.”

See also: on, to

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer