Quits circle, nevertheless (4,2)
I believe the answer is:
even so
'nevertheless' is the definition.
('even so' can be a synonym of 'nevertheless')
'quits circle' is the wordplay.
'quits' becomes 'evens' (I've seen this before).
'circle' becomes 'o'.
'evens'+'o'='EVEN SO'
(Other definitions for even so that I've seen before include "Nevertheless, albeit" , "anyway" , "Although that is the case, nevertheless" , "'Despite, still (4,2)'" , "'Nevertheless (4,2)'" .)