"Free of" vs. "Free from" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
WEBApr 15, 2017 · So free from is used to indicate protection from something problematic, and free of (which doesn't correspond neatly to freedom of) is used to indicate the absence of something: this shampoo is free of parabens. Therefore: The people were free from the barbaric dictator. The mashed potatoes were free of lumps. I wish I could get rid of this ...
grammaticality - Is the phrase "for free" correct? - English …
WEBAug 16, 2011 · Because free by itself can function as an adverb in the sense "at no cost," some critics reject the phrase for free. A phrase such as for nothing, at no cost, or a similar substitute will often work better. Yet while it's true that for free is a casualism and a severely overworked ad cliche, the expression is far too common to be called an ...
What is the opposite of "free" as in "free of charge"?
WEBFeb 2, 2012 · 'The popcorn is free of charge when you purchase a ticket', the opposite would be e.g. 'The popcorn comes at a cost', 'The popcorn isn't free', 'The popcorn cost $10', 'You have to pay for the popcorn' or, simply, 'The popcorn isn't free'.
word usage - Does the sign "Take Free" make sense? - English …
WEBFeb 21, 2017 · "Free" , alone, is hard to compute in English as an object, and probably wouldn't be one in any event. "Free" is just too much an adjective. Take one free . is better. Please take one . is fine . Free . would work as well. While "free", alone, has no article indicating a number, "free" alone creates no burden on the English speaker.
word choice - When is "-less" used, and when is "-free" used?
WEBWhen is the suffix "-less" used, and when is the suffix "-free" used? My initial assumption was that "-free" is used when the absence of something is good, such as "care-free", and "-less" is used when the absence of something is bad, such as "careless". But while looking up -less in Wiktionary, I came across words like "blameless" and ...
meaning - Free as in 'free beer' and in 'free speech' - English ...
WEBWith the advent of the free software movement, license schemes were created to give developers more freedom in terms of code sharing, commonly called open source or free and open source software. As the English adjective free does not distinguish between "for zero price" and "liberty", the phrases "free as in free beer" (gratis, freeware) and ...
"I'm free at around 7PM" - English Language & Usage Stack …
WEBStack Exchange Network. Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
How to ask about one's availability? "free/available/not busy"?
WEBSaying free or available rather than busy may be considered a more "positive" enquiry. It may also simply mean that you expect the person to be busy rather than free, rather than the other way round. Saying available rather than free is considered slightly more formal, though I wouldn't worry much about usage cases. (Most people wouldn't think ...
etymology - What is the origin of "home free"? - English Language ...
WEBJul 16, 2018 · The earliest instance of home free I have been able to find with Google Books so far is baseball-related: The Free Lance-Star, Frederickburg, Va., Saturday, September 7, 1957, page 6: "In the American, New York's Yankees, apparently home free a while ago, are down to a 4½ game lead again." –
etymology - Origin of the phrase "free, white, and twenty-one ...
WEBMay 20, 2022 · Bartlett Whiting, Modern Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings (1989) cites instances of "free, white and twenty-one" as a proverbial phrase going back to 1932, in Cecil Gregg, The Body Behind the Bar: A Tale of Inspector Higgins: "She's free, white, and twenty-one." (Oddly enough, Gregg was a British …