Free lunch

From WikiMD.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Free Lunch

Free lunch (/fri: lʌntʃ/) is a term that originated from the mid-19th century in the United States, referring to a practice where saloons would offer "free" food to patrons who had purchased at least one drink. The phrase is now commonly used in economics to denote the concept that it is impossible to get something for nothing.

Etymology

The term "free lunch" is believed to have originated in the United States in the mid-19th century. Saloons would offer complimentary food to patrons who had purchased at least one drink. The food was often high in salt, encouraging patrons to purchase more drinks. The phrase was later adopted by economists to illustrate the principle that there is no such thing as a free lunch, meaning that even if something seems like it's free, there are always costs involved, whether they are obvious or not.

Related Terms

  • Opportunity cost: This is the cost of forgoing the next best alternative when making a decision. In the context of a "free lunch," the opportunity cost might be the time spent eating the lunch or the cost of the drink that had to be purchased to get the lunch.
  • There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch (TANSTAAFL): This is a popular adage in economics, and it's another way of saying that nothing in life is truly free. Even if something doesn't cost money, it will cost you in other ways, such as time, effort, or lost opportunities.
  • Trade-off: This is a situation where you have to give up one thing in order to get something else. In the case of the "free lunch," the trade-off might be that you have to buy a drink to get the lunch.
  • Externality: This is a cost or benefit that affects a party who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit. In the context of a "free lunch," an externality might be the increased business for the saloon offering the lunch.

External links

Esculaap.svg

This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.


Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski