get out of jail free card

Noun

get out of jail free card (plural get out of jail free cards)

1. (idiomatic, informal) A certain privilege or advantage that provides relief from an undesirable situation or immunity from punishment or consequences.
   • "I don't care to know who spanked her or looked at her cross-eyed when she was little."
     "Trust me, Henry," Ivy said. "It goes way beyond spanking."
     "So that gives her a get-out-of-jail-free card?"
     "Of course it doesn't. What I am saying is―"
     "No, here's what I'm saying. She's combative, she refuses...2008, Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, Ch.2, at p.35
   • ...this decision is not intended to send out a message that due to the pandemic there exists a revolving door policy for offenders to commit crime with the expectation of release or that offenders can now benefit with a "get out of jail free" card. Indeed, if this were the case generally, it would...2020 March 30, A.J. Goodman, “R. v. T.K., 2020 ONSC 1935”, in CanLII, retrieved 14 Sep 2023

   Synonyms:

   exemption, free pass, immunity, scotfree