Understanding ただより高いものはない


> 「むかしっからなァ、ただより高いものはないっていうことわざがあるんだぞっ。」  
>  From the old days there's a saying that "nothing costs as much as what is
> given to us".

I've taken the translation of ただより高いものはない straight from the dictionary, but I
can't get this meaning when I analyse the sentence. I read something like
"compared to expensive things there are no free things" (obviously nonsense).

Can the sentence be analysed grammatically such that it has the intended
meaning? I can't make it work. Or must I just accept that it is a set phrase
and move on?

Perhaps a separate question but I'll try asking anyway: I wasn't sure about my
translation of むかしっからなァ. In particular why there is a っ in it.




ただより高いものはない is a proverb that means "Nothing is more expensive than free
things." In other words, it says free things can be the most costly/risky
thing because there is usually some catch for a free offer.

This sentence follows the basic grammar of comparing two things in Japanese:

  * 高い: expensive
  * **ただより** 高い: more expensive **than (being) free**
  * ただより高い **もの** : **a thing that is** more expensive than (being) free
  * ただより高いもの **はない** : **there is not** a thing that is more expensive than (being) free

Here ただ is not a conjunction nor an adverb but a noun ([ _no_
-adjective](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/2771/5010)) that means
_free_. ～より is not an adverb but a particle similar in purpose to English
"than ～".

昔っから is just a colloquial pronunciation of 昔から, which sounds masculine and
dashing. The っ at the end of the sentence is for the same purpose. This accent
is typically heard in so-called "Tokyo dialect" (aka
[江戸訛り/べらんめえ口調](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E8%A8%80%E8%91%89)).




ただより高いものはない is a proverb that means "Nothing is more expensive than free
things." In other words, it says free things can be the most costly/risky
thing because there is usually some catch for a free offer.

This sentence follows the basic grammar of comparing two things in Japanese:

  * 高い: expensive
  * **ただより** 高い: more expensive **than (being) free**
  * ただより高い **もの** : **a thing that is** more expensive than (being) free
  * ただより高いもの **はない** : **there is not** a thing that is more expensive than (being) free

Here ただ is not a conjunction nor an adverb but a noun ([ _no_
-adjective](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/2771/5010)) that means
_free_. ～より is not an adverb but a particle similar in purpose to English
"than ～".

昔っから is just a colloquial pronunciation of 昔から, which sounds masculine and
dashing. The っ at the end of the sentence is for the same purpose. This accent
is typically heard in so-called "Tokyo dialect" (aka
[江戸訛り/べらんめえ口調](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E8%A8%80%E8%91%89)).

