TANSTAAFL

TANSTAAFL

Written abbreviation of "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch," meaning nothing is ever really given away for free, so be wary of hidden charges, motives, or agendas. Of course, once you're signed up to the free program, you have to pay for all sorts of extra services to make it even worth using. It's a TANSTAAFL situation if I've ever seen one.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch

and TANSTAAFL
sent. & comp. abb. Careful, nothing is really free of charge. Of course, you have to pay extra for the data file. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
See also: free, lunch, no, such, there, thing

TANSTAAFL

verb
See There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • TINSTAAFL
  • there's no such thing as a free lunch
  • lunch
  • ain
  • (there) ain't no such thing as a free lunch
  • Es
  • (there) ain't no free lunch(es)
  • free
  • the only free cheese is in the mousetrap
  • a free lunch