free lunch

American  

noun

1. food provided without charge in some bars and saloons to attract customers.

2. Informal. something given with no expectation of repayment, service, responsibility, etc..

   In politics there's no free lunch—everyone expects favors to be repaid.

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free lunch Idioms  

1. Something acquired without due effort or cost. For example, In politics there is no free lunch; every favor calls for repayment. This expression alludes to the custom of taverns offering food free of charge to induce customers to buy drinks. It was soon extended to other kinds of gift but is often used in a negative way, as in the example. [First half of 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of free lunch

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

free lunch

As Patti summarized it, "there is no free lunch" when searching for sugar alternatives, particularly when several metabolic pathways can ultimately lead toward liver dysfunction.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

"It's not a free lunch in that sense."

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

But most investors miss the second free lunch: Diversification not only among stocks but among asset classes.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026

“There is no free lunch here,” argues Adam Levitin, a credit market expert at Georgetown law school.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026

Truman was the only school in Pennsylvania on the list with more than 30 percent of its students in the free lunch program.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove