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Never give a sucker an even breakMeaningLiteral meaning, but usually used for comic effect. Origin
Eric Partridge, in his Dictionary of Catch Phrases, says the quotation is "more credibly attributed to a remark made by Edward Francis Albee (1857-1930)", although he offers no evidence to support that view. Phrasefinder is also on
Tudor Phrases and Sayings - a book on the meanings and origins of the phrases and sayings that Shakespeare and Henry VIII used that we use still use every day. |
This line is generally associated with W.C.Fields, who made a film of this name in 1943 and said it as an ad-lib in a stage production
of the musical Poppy in 1923. It appears this was more than just a dramatic line
and expressed Fields' true sentiments. As well as being a comic actor he was
a successful and reportedly ruthless businessman. 
