Word.ws English Dictionary

tanstaafl

tanstaafl is the alternative letter-case form of TANSTAAFL.

Phrase capitalized: TANSTAAFL

TANSTAAFL

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of there ain't no such thing as a free lunch: something advertised as being "free" will invariably have hidden costs.
    • "Gospodin," he said presently, "you used an odd word earlier--odd to me, I mean..."
      "Oh, 'tanstaafl.' Means 'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.' And isn't," I added, pointing to a FREE LUNCH sign across room, "or these drinks would cost half as much. Was reminding her that anything free...1966, Robert Heinlein, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
    • 'Tanstaafl. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. We both know that I was brought here for a reason. If we could get down to business.'1985, Lance Parkin, The Infinity Doctors, page 229

Forms of tanstaafl

alternative formtanstaafl
alternative formTINSTAAFL

Origin of tanstaafl

Acronym, originating in the early 20th century, and popularized by Robert Heinlein's novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.

Questions about tanstaafl

What is tanstaafl the alternative letter-case form of?
Tanstaafl is the alternative letter-case form of TANSTAAFL.
What part of speech is tanstaafl?
Tanstaafl is a phrase.

Words near tanstaafl in the dictionary

  1. tansies
  2. Tanski
  3. Tanskis
  4. Tansley
  5. Tansleys
  6. tanstaafl
  7. tanstuff
  8. tanstuffs
  9. tansu
  10. tansus
  11. tansy

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tanstaafl (page history and authors); TANSTAAFL (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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