Free lunch
Encyclopedia
The phrase free lunch, in U.S. literature from about 1870 to 1920, refers to a tradition once common in saloons
in many places in the United States. These establishments included a "free" lunch, varying from rudimentary to quite elaborate, with the purchase of at least one drink. These free lunches were typically worth far more than the price of a single drink. The saloon-keeper relied on the expectation that most customers would buy more than one drink, and that the practice would build patronage for other times of day.
Free food or drink is sometimes supplied in contemporary times, often by gambling
establishments such as casinos
.
The saying "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch", often abbreviated to TANSTAAFL
, refers to this custom, meaning that things which appear to be free are always paid for in some way.
wrote of elaborate free lunches as a "custom peculiar to the Crescent City" (New Orleans
), saying that "In every one of the drinking saloons which fill the city a meal of some sort is served free every day. The custom appears to have prevailed long before the war
.... I am informed that there are thousands of men in this city who live entirely on the meals obtained in this way." As described by this reporter,
The repast included "immense dishes of butter," large baskets of bread, "a monster silver boiler filled with a most excellent oyster soup," "a round of beef that must have weighed at least forty pounds," vessels filled with potatoes, stewed mutton, stewed tomatoes, and macaroni à la Français. The proprietor said that the patrons included "at least a dozen old fellows who come here every day, take one fifteen cent drink, eat a dinner which would have cost them $1 in a restaurant, and then complain that the beef is tough or the potatoes watery." ($0.15 in 1875 is roughly equivalent to $2.94 today; $1 in 1875 to $19.62 today)
The custom was well-developed in San Francisco. An 1886 story on the fading of the days of '49
in San Francisco
calls "The free lunch fiend the only landmark of the past." It asks "How do all these idle people live" and asserts "It is the free lunch system that keeps them alive. Take away that peculiarly California institution and they would all starve." Rudyard Kipling
, writing in 1891, noted how he
A 1919 novel compared the experience to a war zone by saying "the shells and shrapnels was flyin round and over our heads thicker than hungry bums around a free lunch counter."
opposed the free lunch as promoting the consumption of alcohol. An 1874 history of the movement writes:
A number of writers, however, suggest that the free lunch actually performed a social relief function. Reformer William T. Stead commented that in winter in 1894 the suffering of the poor in need of food
He states that "in many cases the free lunch is really a free lunch," citing an example of a saloon which did not insist on a drink purchase, although commenting that this saloon was "better than its neighbors." Stead cites a newspaper's estimate that the saloon keepers fed 60,000 people a day and that this represented a contribution of about $18,000 a week toward the relief of the destitute in Chicago.
In 1896, the New York State legislature passed the Raines law
which was intended to regulate liquor traffic. Among its many provisions, one forbade the sale of liquor unless accompanied by food, while another outlawed the free lunch. In 1897, however, it was amended to again allow free lunches.
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
in many places in the United States. These establishments included a "free" lunch, varying from rudimentary to quite elaborate, with the purchase of at least one drink. These free lunches were typically worth far more than the price of a single drink. The saloon-keeper relied on the expectation that most customers would buy more than one drink, and that the practice would build patronage for other times of day.
Free food or drink is sometimes supplied in contemporary times, often by gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
establishments such as casinos
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
.
The saying "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch", often abbreviated to TANSTAAFL
TANSTAAFL
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. The acronyms TANSTAAFL and TINSTAAFL are also used...
, refers to this custom, meaning that things which appear to be free are always paid for in some way.
History
In 1875 The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote of elaborate free lunches as a "custom peculiar to the Crescent City" (New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
), saying that "In every one of the drinking saloons which fill the city a meal of some sort is served free every day. The custom appears to have prevailed long before the war
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.... I am informed that there are thousands of men in this city who live entirely on the meals obtained in this way." As described by this reporter,
A free lunch-counter is a great leveler of classes, and when a man takes up a position before one of them he must give up all hope of appearing either dignified or consequential. In New-Orleans all classes of the people can be seen partaking of these free meals and pushing and scrambling to be helped a second time. [At one saloon] six men were engaged in preparing drinks for the crowd that stood in front of the counter. I noticed that the price charged for every kind of liquor was fifteen cents, punches and cobblers costing no more than a glass of ale.
The repast included "immense dishes of butter," large baskets of bread, "a monster silver boiler filled with a most excellent oyster soup," "a round of beef that must have weighed at least forty pounds," vessels filled with potatoes, stewed mutton, stewed tomatoes, and macaroni à la Français. The proprietor said that the patrons included "at least a dozen old fellows who come here every day, take one fifteen cent drink, eat a dinner which would have cost them $1 in a restaurant, and then complain that the beef is tough or the potatoes watery." ($0.15 in 1875 is roughly equivalent to $2.94 today; $1 in 1875 to $19.62 today)
The Free Lunch Fiend
The nearly indigent "free-lunch fiend" was a recognized social type. An 1872 New York Times story about "loafers and free-lunch men" who "toil not, neither do they spin, yet they 'get along,'" visiting saloons, trying to bum drinks from strangers; "should this inexplicable lunch-fiend not happen to be called to drink, he devours whatever he can, and, while the bartender is occupied, tries to escape unnoticed."The custom was well-developed in San Francisco. An 1886 story on the fading of the days of '49
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
calls "The free lunch fiend the only landmark of the past." It asks "How do all these idle people live" and asserts "It is the free lunch system that keeps them alive. Take away that peculiarly California institution and they would all starve." Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, writing in 1891, noted how he
came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts.
A 1919 novel compared the experience to a war zone by saying "the shells and shrapnels was flyin round and over our heads thicker than hungry bums around a free lunch counter."
Controversies
The temperance movementTemperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
opposed the free lunch as promoting the consumption of alcohol. An 1874 history of the movement writes:
In the cities, there are prominent rooms on fashionable streets that hold out the sign "Free Lunch." Does it mean that some [philanthropist] ... has gone systematically to work setting out tables ... placing about them a score of the most beautiful and winning young ladies... hiring a band of music? Ah, no! ... there are men who do all this in order to hide the main feature of their peculiar institution. Out of sight is a well-filled bar, which is the centre about which all these other things are made to revolve. All the gathered fascinations and attractions are as so many baits to allure men into the net that is spread for them. Thus consummate art plies the work of death, and virtue, reputation, and every good are sacrificed as these worse than MolochMolochMoloch — also rendered as Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, or Moloc — is the name of an ancient Semitic god...
shrines.
A number of writers, however, suggest that the free lunch actually performed a social relief function. Reformer William T. Stead commented that in winter in 1894 the suffering of the poor in need of food
would have been very much greater had it not been for the help given by the labor unions to their members and for an agency which, without pretending to be of much account from a charitable point of view, nevertheless fed more hungry people in Chicago than all the other agencies, religious, charitable, and municipal, put together. I refer to the Free Lunch of the saloons. There are from six to seven thousand saloons in Chicago. In one half of these a free lunch is provided every day of the week.
He states that "in many cases the free lunch is really a free lunch," citing an example of a saloon which did not insist on a drink purchase, although commenting that this saloon was "better than its neighbors." Stead cites a newspaper's estimate that the saloon keepers fed 60,000 people a day and that this represented a contribution of about $18,000 a week toward the relief of the destitute in Chicago.
In 1896, the New York State legislature passed the Raines law
Raines law
The Raines law was passed on March 23, 1896, by the New York State Legislature. It was nominally a liquor tax, but its intention was to curb the consumption of alcohol by imposing regulations....
which was intended to regulate liquor traffic. Among its many provisions, one forbade the sale of liquor unless accompanied by food, while another outlawed the free lunch. In 1897, however, it was amended to again allow free lunches.
See also
- National School Lunch ActNational School Lunch ActThe Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act is a United States federal law signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1946. The act created the National School Lunch Program , a program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools...
- No Free Lunch (organization)No Free Lunch (organization)No Free Lunch is a US-based advocacy organization that holds that marketing methods employed by drug companies influence the way doctors and other healthcare providers prescribe medications...
- No free lunch in search and optimization
- The Free Lunch Is Over (computing)The Free Lunch Is Over (computing)"The Free Lunch Is Over" is an article from Herb Sutter published in 2005. It stated that microprocessor serial processing speed is reaching a physical limit, which leads to two main consequences:...
- TANSTAAFLTANSTAAFL"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. The acronyms TANSTAAFL and TINSTAAFL are also used...
- Happy hourHappy hourHappy hour is a marketing term for a period of time in which a restaurant or bar offers discounts on alcoholic drinks, such as beer, wine, and cocktails.-Basic information:...