<P> `` There ai n't no such thing as a free lunch '' ( alternatively , `` There is no such thing as a free lunch '' or other variants ) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing . The acronyms TANSTAAFL , TINSTAAFL , and TNSTAAFL are also used . Uses of the phrase dating back to the 1930s and 1940s have been found , but the phrase 's first appearance is unknown . The `` free lunch '' in the saying refers to the nineteenth - century practice in American bars of offering a `` free lunch '' in order to entice drinking customers . </P>
<P> `` There ai n't no such thing as a free lunch '' ( alternatively , `` There is no such thing as a free lunch '' or other variants ) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing . The acronyms TANSTAAFL , TINSTAAFL , and TNSTAAFL are also used . Uses of the phrase dating back to the 1930s and 1940s have been found , but the phrase 's first appearance is unknown . The `` free lunch '' in the saying refers to the nineteenth - century practice in American bars of offering a `` free lunch '' in order to entice drinking customers . </P>
what do economists mean by the acronym tanstaafl
what do economists mean by the acronym tanstaafl
`` There ai n't no such thing as a free lunch ''
`` There ai n't no such thing as a free lunch ''