break, n. [from the v.] as in "give me a break"

18. colloq. A chance, an opportunity; a piece of good luck; freq. with defining word, as an even break: an equal or fair chance. orig. U.S.
1911 H. Quick Yellowstone N. v. 126 It's allus an even break whether they'll stan' and freeze in their tracks, or chase after some bunch of+natives. 1911 Mulford Bar-20 Days xxiii. 231 Now he wanted an ‘even break’, where once he would have called all his wits into play to avoid it. 1918 I Man fr. Bar-20 xiii. 128 If th' stakes are high an' the breaks anywhere near equal, I'll risk my last dollar or my last breath. 1926 J. Black You can't Win xxi. 331, I could ‘take’ the spot if I got a fair break on the luck. 1928 Daily Express 11 July 12 The chances in the ‘quarter-mile’ seem to give the Americans only an even break for a first place. 1930 Publishers' Weekly 8 Feb. 705/2 These buyers and their stores get what are known as ‘the breaks’. 1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock ii. i. 62 A break like that's too good. Ibid. 72 We had a lucky break. 1948 L. A. G. Strong Trevannion 196 Give the boy a break, they thought indulgently. [OED]


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