[Ads-l] RES: Adage: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
Laurence Horn
laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Mon Aug 29 17:16:34 UTC 2016
Well, by the same token, *nothing* is free, because you could always have been granted X dollars instead. When you "buy two, get one free", you could have been given the cost of one instead. And we know (although I don't know who it gets attributed to) that "freedom isn't free". So there ain't no such thing as a free anything. TANSTAAFA.
LH
> On Aug 29, 2016, at 11:53 AM, David Daniel <dad at COARSECOURSES.COM> wrote:
>
> Instead of feeding you a "free" lunch at Yale, they could maybe pay you X
> bucks a day more. So it ain't free; it's costing you X bucks a day. The cost
> of samples that people graze on at supermarkets is added to the consumer
> price of the item. So that ain't free either. I'd say things are looking
> pretty TANSTAAFL-ish to me.
> DAD
>
> Enviada em: segunda-feira, 29 de agosto de 2016 12:08
> Para: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Assunto: Re: Adage: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
>
> Poster: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Adage: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>
> I guess the response in each is that the free lunch isn't *really* free, =
> since you need to buy a drink (in the old bars), deal with the = temptation
> of the non-free stuff at Whole Foods etc. while you're = grazing on the free
> stuff, put up with the sermons and/or Sam's Club = clientele below, or
> mingle with the undergraduates at the Yale = residential college dining
> halls. =20
>
> LH
>
>> On Aug 29, 2016, at 11:02 AM, paul johnson <paulzjoh at MTNHOME.COM> =
> wrote:
>> =20
>> For free lunches in action, try a Sam's Club just after church let's =
> out on a Sunday. Actual lines filled with families grazing in the = store.
>> =20
>> =20
>> On 8/29/2016 9:55 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>>> On Aug 28, 2016, at 9:12 PM, Joel Berson <berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
>>>> =20
>>>> Nowadays, there is such a thing -- one goes grazing near lunch-time
>>>> =
> at a Whole Foods (or similar) market.
>>>> =20
>>>> Joel
>>> Don't tell anyone but there is free lunch at Yale (as faculty or =
> retired faculty). Too bad TISTAAFL doesn't have quite the same = profundity
> as TANSTAAFL.
>>> =20
>>> LH
>>>> =20
>>>> From: Peter Reitan <pjreitan at HOTMAIL.COM>
>>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>>> Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2016 5:23 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Adage: There ain't no such thing as a free =
> lunch
>>>> =20
>>>> I looked into "free lunch" last year before becoming distracted by =
> something else.
>>>> =20
>>>> And, since there is no such thing as a "free lunch," someone beat me
>>>> =
> to the punch.
>>>> =20
>>>> =20
>>>> My summary:
>>>> =20
>>>> A "free lunch," generally served with beer or liquor in a tavern, =
> dates to at least 1851. It was kinda like the precursor of the modern =
> happy hour buffet.
>>>> =20
>>>> Because "free lunches" encouraged people to lounge around in bars, =
> squandering the family's rent money or grocery money on booze and free =
> food; it came under fire from the Temperance movement.
>>>> =20
>>>> The earliest example I could find of "free lunch" as a metaphor in a
>>>> =
> socio-economic policy discussion is from poem, credited to Josephine =
> Pollard, that appeared in several papers, as early as September 1887:
>>>> =20
>>>> =20
>>>> The Progressive Farmer (Winston, NC), September 8, 1887, page 5.
>>>> =20
>>>> Some find it convenient to live at their ease, And all obligations
>>>> to shirk; On every occasion to do as they please, And give no
>>>> attention to work.
>>>> As idlers and sluggards, as loungers and drones, They follow their
>>>> indolent ways.
>>>> By being this lax, increasing the tax That somebody pays.
>>>> =20
>>>> Free lunches, free passes, they have at command, Rich gifts that to
>>>> others are lost, And gaily they feast on the fat of the land, And
>>>> travel regardless of cost.
>>>> But for all the fine banquets, the wear and the tear Of public or
>>>> private displays, Though you may go free, 'tis as sure as can be
>>>> That somebody pays =20 Some boast of the credit they freely obtain,
>>>> The taxes from which they're exempt, And to cancel the favors
>>>> received, it is plain They've made not a single attempt; With honor
>>>> at stake, they consent to remain In debt to the end of their days,
>>>> And with insolent pride, a "free horse" they ride, For which
>>>> somebody pays.
>>>> =20
>>>> Some go through the world with a niggardly heart, And carry a
>>>> miserly purse, While others, with liberal zeal, do their part, And
>>>> freely their treasures disburse; And for hours of idleness we may
>>>> enjoy, For losses and needless delays, For waste and neglect, it is
>>>> well to reflect That somebody pays.
>>>> -Josephine Pollard.
>>>> =20
>>>> =20
>>>> A few weeks later, an anecdote by the same name was published, =
> illustrating the ultimate costs of drinking too much and enjoying free =
> lunches:
>>>> =20
>>>> The Watchman and Southron (Sumter, South Carolina), October 26, =
> 1887, page 4 (citing a periodical called, Companion:
>>>> =20
>>>> Somebody Pays
>>>> =20
>>>> Tom C ----- , a lad from the country who had secured a situation in
>>>> =
> New York, was taken in charge by John, an older boy, who 'knew the = ropes.'
> Here is the place for dinner,' he said one day, during their = hour at noon,
> stopping before a glittering house, with windows of = stained glass, and a
> gilt sign displaying an attractive bill of fare.
>>>> =20
>>>> 'Clam soup. Ham. Sardines. Cheese. Free lunch. Come along! You can
>>>> =
> eat a hearty dinner, all for nothing.'
>>>> =20
>>>> But Tom drew back. 'I don't understand. But I'm sure of one thing:
>>>> =
> Somebody pays,' he said. A year later he met John, who had been =
> discharged months before, coming out of the ginshop, staggering. It was =
> late at night. John's wife, pale, hungry-looking, shabbily clothed, was =
> waiting for him.
>>>> =20
>>>> 'I see now who paid for the free lunches, said the country lad, as =
> he helped her to lead her drunken husband home. - Companion.
>>>> =20
>>>> I found numerous examples of similar sentiments throughout the =
> 1890s, but not in the familiar form.
>>>> =20
>>>> The earliest example of something like the familiar idiom that I =
> could find is from 1909:
>>>> =20
>>>> The Washington Herald, November 2, 1909, page 6 =20 Mr. Tillman's
>>>> idea that free lunch is good enough for anybody - or =
> even Presidents - may appear sound to some people, but, as a matter of =
> face, there is no such thing as free lunch. Somebody has to pay for it.
>>>> =20
>>>> I a similar expression from 1901 - but it was more literal:
>>>> =20
>>>> The Round Table (Beloit College yearbook), 1900 At Paris there is
>>>> no such thing as a free lunch, at least I never =
> found anything of the kind, and I looked for them. You always paid, not =
> very much to be sure . . . .
>>>> =20
>>>> Pete Reitan
>>>> =20
>>>>> Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2016 02:06:39 -0400
>>>>> From: adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
>>>>> Subject: Adage: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
>>>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>>>> =20
>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header =
> -----------------------
>>>>> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>> Poster: ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>>>>> Subject: Adage: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch
>>>>> =
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -----
>>>>> =20
>>>>> The Quote Investigator website now has an entry on the topic in the
>>>>> subject line:
>>>>> =20
>>>>> There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3Dhttp-3A__quoteinvestigator.co=
> m_2016_08_27_free-2Dlunch_&d=3DCwIFaQ&c=3D-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=3DwFp3X=
> 4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=3DP-HIlVJqs4kcr1EoT420638LeVqyL-V=
> iSj11v6N668M&s=3DErx0SD0TuFtwC3h5avMlvYbxK9LwJb1w1f9Wplxj3m8&e=3D
>>>>> =20
>>>>> The treatment is incomplete, but the text is already over 3,300 =
> words,
>>>>> and that is enough for now. This saying has been discussed on the
>>>>> mailing list repeatedly. I shared some findings back in October =
> 2009.
>>>>> =20
>>>>> Feedback welcome,
>>>>> Garson
>>>>> =20
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> The American Dialect Society - =
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> kPuDiHsmKpHmZpx0lJV_upiEVsoqdnSVbeA28&e=3D
>>>> =
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> The American Dialect Society - =
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>>>> =20
>>>> =20
>>>> =20
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> The American Dialect Society - =
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>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
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>> =20
>> --=20
>> If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.
>> =20
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