story based on proverb there is no such thing as free lunch
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Explanation:No free lunch" redirects here. For the medical advocacy group, see No Free Lunch (organization). For the theorem in mathematical optimization, see No free lunch theorem.
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" (alternatively, "There is no such thing as a free lunch" or other variants) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. The acronyms TANSTAAFL, TINSTAAFL, and TNSTAAFL are also used. The phrase was in use by the 1930s, but its first appearance is unknown.[1] The "free lunch" in the saying refers to the 19th-century practice in American bars of offering a "free lunch" in order to entice drinking customers.
The phrase and the acronym are central to Robert Heinlein's 1966 science-fiction novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which helped popularize it.[2][3] The free-market economist Milton Friedman also increased its exposure and use[1] by paraphrasing it as the title of a 1975 book,[4] and it is used in economics literature to describe opportunity cost.[5] Campbell McConnell writes that the idea is "at the core of economics".[6]
Contents
1 History and usage
1.1 "Free lunch"
1.2 Early uses
1.3 Popularization
1.4 Meanings
2 See also
3 Notes
4 References
History and usage
"Free lunch"
The "free lunch" refers to the once-common tradition of saloons in the United States providing a "free" lunch to patrons who had purchased at least one drink. Many foods on offer were high in salt (e.g., ham, cheese, and salted crackers), so those who ate them ended up buying a lot of beer. Rudyard Kipling, writing in 1891, noted how he