free rides
Complimentary lifts offered
Free rides are benefits obtained without paying or contributing what others must.
A fare-evader gets a free ride on the subway; a slacker gets a free ride when teammates carry the workload.
The phrase often carries disapproval—someone enjoying advantages they haven't earned: He's been getting a free ride while the rest of us work overtime.
In amusement parks, the literal sense persists: complimentary turns on rides.
- freebiesItems given without charge
- no such thingAbsent from reality
- giveawayFree item or betraying clue
- gratisAt no expense
- on the houseGiven without charge
freeloading · gift · handout · comps · no strings attached · unpaid · mooching · public goods · externalities · moral hazard · pass the buck · gravy train · easy money · benefit · loopholes · complimentary · subsidies · advantage
free ridesfull price
Amount without reductions
premium pricing · toll roads · pay-per-use · out-of-pocket expenses · user fees
free rideshard work
Sustained strenuous effort
sweat equity · blood sweat and tears · bootstrapping · the hard way · elbow grease
free ridespersonal responsibility
Duty to own consequences
accountability · skin in the game · fair share · paying the piper · quid pro quo
free, rides, ride, rider, riders, riding, rode, ridden, freed