A fork of Rural Dictionary
Acronym for: "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
Accredited to author Robert A. Heinlein in his novel "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"
TANSTAAFL is the golden rule.
Abbreviation
A common shorthand for the colloquialism "There ain't no such things as a free lunch" implying that anything, as free as it may appear, has a real hidden cost.
(SMS)
Fred: WTF!? My stay was comped, but at checkout they charged me 4 the cable, phone, and internet!
Barney: TANSTAAFL
T.here A.in't N.o S.uch T.hing A.s A. F.ree L.unch
Something advertised as being "free" will invariably have hidden costs.
Kid: Woah, why does Facebook have a whole bunch of Ads on their site all of a sudden?
Teacher: TANSTAAFL
There's always new shoes to appreciate, adore, fondle, love
I broke up with my girlfriend and TANSTAAFL