the.com/on an even keel
Steady enough that nobody's checking for icebergs.
means In a stable, balanced state—emotionally settled or running smoothly without upset.
from From sailing: a ship's keel is the long spine running along its bottom, and when a vessel sits 'even' on its keel, it's balanced upright in the water rather than listing to one side. By the 1800s the phrase had drifted ashore to describe steady nerves, steady finances, steady anything.
- origin
- keel is the ship's spine, balance literally prevents capsizing
- first use
- nautical term since the 1600s, metaphor came later
- modern use
- describes finances, emotions, or shaky governments staying upright
- irony
- usually said right before something tips over