Never a deal

Never Nev"er (n[e^]v"[~e]r), adv. [AS. n[=ae]fre; ne not, no + [=ae]fre ever.] 1. Not ever; not at any time; at no time, whether past, present, or future. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Death still draws nearer, never seeming near. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

2. In no degree; not in the least; not. [1913 Webster]

Whosoever has a friend to guide him, may carry his eyes in another man's head, and yet see never the worse. --South. [1913 Webster]

And he answered him to never a word. --Matt. xxvii. 14. [1913 Webster]

Note: Never is much used in composition with present participles to form adjectives, as in never-ceasing, never-dying, never-ending, never-fading, never-failing, etc., retaining its usual signification. [1913 Webster]

{Never a deal}, not a bit. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

{Never so}, as never before; more than at any other time, or in any other circumstances; especially; particularly; -- now often expressed or replaced by {ever so}.

Ask me never so much dower and gift. --Gen. xxxiv. 12.

A fear of battery, . . . though never so well grounded, is no duress. --Blackstone. [1913 Webster]