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There's no such thing as a free lunch

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There's no such thing as a free lunch.

 and There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

Prov. Cliché Everything costs something. (Can imply that you should be suspicious of anything that appears to be free.) Fred: This advertisement says I can get an expensive camera for free! Jane: Don't be so gullible. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Mary gave me her sewing machine, but I had to give it $100 worth of repairs before I could even use it. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

See also: free, lunch, such, thing

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

something that you say which means that if someone gives you something, they always expect you to give them something or to do something for them He offered me a room in his house, but he seems to expect me to do all the housework. I should have known there's no such thing as a free lunch.

See It's one thing after another!, one thing leads to another, know a thing or two

See also: free, lunch, such, thing