there's no such thing as a free lunch
English · Thesaurus
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there's no such thing as a free lunch
Where it comes from
In use since the 1930s. Popularized by the American economist Milton Friedman through the title of a 1975 book, and frequently misattributed to him.
Translations
Every language
phrase nothing is free; everything has a price
| 日本語 | 只より高いものはない tada-yori takai mono-wa nai |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 天下沒有白吃的午餐 /天下没有白吃的午餐 tiānxià méiyǒu báichī de wǔcān, 天下沒有免費的午餐 /天下没有免费的午餐 tiānxià méiyǒu miǎnfèi de wǔcān, 世上沒有免費的午餐 /世上没有免费的午餐 shìshàng méiyǒu miǎnfèi de wǔcān |
| Português | não existe almoço de graça, não existe almoço grátis |
| Français | on n'a rien sans rien, tout a un prix |
| Deutsch | nichts ist umsonst, es wird einem nichts geschenkt |
| Italiano | i soldi non crescono sugli alberi |
| עברית | אין ארוחות חינם ēn arukhot ḥinám |
Talk about this word "there's no such thing as a free lunch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/there's%20no%20such%20thing%20as%20a%20free%20lunch. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. there's no such thing as a free lunch. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/there's%20no%20such%20thing%20as%20a%20free%20lunch "there's no such thing as a free lunch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/there's%20no%20such%20thing%20as%20a%20free%20lunch.Cite this
@misc{there_s_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch_2026,
title = {there's no such thing as a free lunch},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/there's%20no%20such%20thing%20as%20a%20free%20lunch},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
