mod. honest; straightforward. : Come on now. Be on the level with me.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Idioms & Phrases
on the level
Honest, straightforward, sincere, as in You can believe hershe's on the level. This expression may have come from Freemasonry, where the carpenter's level symbolizes integrity. [Late 1800s]