there's no such thing as a free lunch

• there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, there is no free lunch, there is no such thing as a free lunch

In use since the 1930s. Popularized by the American economist Milton Friedman through the title of a 1975 book, and frequently misattributed to him.

there's no such thing as a free lunch

1. Nothing is free; even things that appear free often have to be paid for in the end.

   Synonyms: TANSTAAFL, TINSTAAFL

• free lunch

•   there ain't no such thing as a free lunch on Wikipedia.Wikipedia