Djokovic in his very modest acceptance speech following
his defeat in the Wimbledon final, says "That is even stevens",
meaning (I suppose) payback or karma or a levelling up, for
previous luck not necessarily earned.

Who was Steven?

Lionel Edwards <lioneledwards61@gmail.com> writes:
>Who was Steven?

An early source for such a rhyme is

|1711   J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 20 Jan. (1948) I. 171   Now
|we are even, quoth Stephen, when he gave his wife six blows
|for one.

, but know one knows who this "Steven" was.

It means something like "even" or "fifty-fifty".

|2008   Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News 9 Nov. 4 c/4   The House is
|split nearly even-steven.

On Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 2:13:43 PM UTC-4, Lionel Edwards wrote:

> Djokovic in his very modest acceptance speech following
> his defeat in the Wimbledon final, says "That is even stevens",
> meaning (I suppose) payback or karma or a levelling up, for
> previous luck not necessarily earned.
>
> Who was Steven?

When properly spoken, he rhymes with "even."

On Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 7:25:20 PM UTC+1, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> On Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 2:13:43 PM UTC-4, Lionel Edwards wrote:
>
> > Djokovic in his very modest acceptance speech following
> > his defeat in the Wimbledon final, says "That is even stevens",
> > meaning (I suppose) payback or karma or a levelling up, for
> > previous luck not necessarily earned.
> >
> > Who was Steven?
> When properly spoken, he rhymes with "even."

There is no other way of pronouncing it? This is the Steven that comes
to my mind first:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRvcrWGUmR4

Lionel Edwards wrote on 7/16/2023 :
> On Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 7:25:20 PM UTC+1, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
>> On Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 2:13:43 PM UTC-4, Lionel Edwards wrote:
>>
>>> Djokovic in his very modest acceptance speech following
>>> his defeat in the Wimbledon final, says "That is even stevens",
>>> meaning (I suppose) payback or karma or a levelling up, for
>>> previous luck not necessarily earned.
>>>
>>> Who was Steven?
>> When properly spoken, he rhymes with "even."
>
> There is no other way of pronouncing it?

Why would you want to? This is a simple rhyming pair, like boogie
woogie or Plain Jane.

> This is the Steven that comes
> to my mind first:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRvcrWGUmR4

No, that is Mr Stevens, first name Shakin'. Does he pronounce his name
in the video?

"Swivel hips" does not rhyme, but the first and third vowel are similar
enough to give a bit of rhyming effect. "Pompadour" doesn't rhyme, but
it's convenient that Mr Stevens can achieve a successful suggestion of
his prototype.

/dps

--
Courage is knowing it might hurt, and doing it anyway.
Stupidity is the same.
And that's why life is hard.
-- the World Wide Web

On Sun, 16 Jul 2023 11:13:39 -0700 (PDT), Lionel Edwards
<lioneledwards61@gmail.com> wrote:

> Who was Steven?

A word that rhymes with "even".

There are other expressions in which a word is repeated with an
altered first consonant, such as easy-peasy and cuddly-wuddly.

--
Joy Beeson, U.S.A., mostly central Hoosier,
some Northern Indiana, Upstate New York, Florida, and Hawaii
joy beeson at centurylink dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.

On Monday, Joy Beeson queried:
> On Sun, 16 Jul 2023 11:13:39 -0700 (PDT), Lionel Edwards
> <lioneledwards61@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Who was Steven?
>
> A word that rhymes with "even".
>
> There are other expressions in which a word is repeated with an
> altered first consonant, such as easy-peasy and cuddly-wuddly.

Good examples, thank you.

/dps

--
"Maintaining a really good conspiracy requires far more intelligent
application, by a large number of people, than the world can readily
supply."

Sam Plusnet

In article <isubbidmcdg2acr1gbvr2a6g2o23o6cutv@4ax.com>,
jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid says...
>
> On Sun, 16 Jul 2023 11:13:39 -0700 (PDT), Lionel Edwards
> <lioneledwards61@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Who was Steven?
>
> A word that rhymes with "even".

And a blood relative of Simple Simon.
>
> There are other expressions in which a word is repeated with an
> altered first consonant, such as easy-peasy and cuddly-wuddly.

Janet

Le mardi 18 juillet 2023 à 11:11:51 UTC+2, Janet a écrit :
> In article <isubbidmcdg2acr1g...@4ax.com>,
> jbe...@invalid.net.invalid says...
> >
> > On Sun, 16 Jul 2023 11:13:39 -0700 (PDT), Lionel Edwards
> > <lionele...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Who was Steven?
> >
> > A word that rhymes with "even".
> And a blood relative of Simple Simon.

This Simon?

---
You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
---

> >
> > There are other expressions in which a word is repeated with an
> > altered first consonant, such as easy-peasy and cuddly-wuddly.
> Janet

On Monday, July 17, 2023 at 10:46:30 PM UTC-4, Snidely wrote:
> On Monday, Joy Beeson queried:
> > On Sun, 16 Jul 2023 11:13:39 -0700 (PDT), Lionel Edwards
> > <lionele...@gmail.com> wrote:

> >> Who was Steven?
> > A word that rhymes with "even".
> > There are other expressions in which a word is repeated with an
> > altered first consonant, such as easy-peasy and cuddly-wuddly.
>
> Good examples, thank you.

Would you believe such compounds have been studied -- and thee are
what some call "rules" about which consonants or which vowels can
occur in a second (or further) half of the construction?

Frex, no lyricist would have come up with "boobity-bobbity-bih."