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

If they all received free lunch, that would come to a little over $25 billion, based on a 180-day school year.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

There's no such thing as a free lunch, unless you're a Hollywood A-lister who's nominated for an Oscar.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

“There’s no free lunch, there’s no magic wand that makes all the problems go away,” said Fervo CEO Tim Latimer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

As Patti put it, "there is no free lunch" when it comes to sugar alternatives, and many metabolic pathways can ultimately lead back to liver dysfunction.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

That handful of compost was proof that when grass can eat sunlight and food animals can eat grass, there is indeed a free lunch.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan