To get even with someone
Meaning
To retaliate against someone to achieve a state of fairness or balance after an offense.
Origin
To get even with someone roots itself in a desire for balance, echoing back to medieval marketplaces and the meticulous ledgers of early commerce. Here, "even" didn't just mean flat; it signified a state of equilibrium, where debts were settled, and accounts were squared. When a transaction was completed, or a debt repaid, the books were "even"—a perfect, satisfying zero sum. This fundamental concept of mathematical equality gradually bled into the messy human realm of personal slights and injustices. If someone wronged you, they tipped the scales, creating an imbalance. To "get even" became the act of restoring that equilibrium, not through currency, but through a retaliatory action that aimed to re-establish a perceived fairness, making the score "even" once more, albeit often through less civilized means than a balanced ledger.
Examples
- After his rival spread rumors, he vowed to get even with him during the next election.
- She planned carefully to get even with the prankster who ruined her presentation.