Home › Proverbs

There's no such thing as a free lunch

Meaning: Everything has a hidden cost.

Origin: American proverb popularized by economist Milton Friedman in the 1970s.

Translations

  • French: Rien n'est gratuit dans la vie (literally: Nothing is free in life)
  • Spanish: Nadie da duros a cuatro pesetas (literally: Nobody gives duros for four pesetas)
  • Japanese: ただより高いものはない (Tada yori takai mono wa nai) (literally: Nothing is more expensive than free)

← Back to Proverbs

Loading the full interactive collection…