MASONIC PHRASES IN COMMON USE IN SOCIETY

Black Balled - meaning ‘to be rejected’

Some Masonic phrases which are commonly used in English-speaking society, many for hundreds of years, include examples such as:

• ‘To be initiated’ – meaning ‘to be received and accepted (into an organisation, association, job, etc)’
• ‘To be black-balled’ – meaning ‘to be rejected’
• ‘To display square conduct’ – meaning ‘to display correct conduct’
• ‘Acting on the square’ – meaning ‘acting in the correct manner’
• ‘On the level’ – meaning ‘being honest and truthful and treating the other person as an equal’
• ‘Upright person’ (literally meaning ‘someone standing perpendicular to the [level] ground’) – meaning ‘someone who displays all the correct attributes, intentions, etc’
• ‘To be given the third degree’ – meaning ‘to be thoroughly interrogated’