free rein

English

WOTD – 13 December 2024

Etymology

From free (adjective) +‎ rein.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌfɹiː ˈɹeɪn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌfɹi ˈɹeɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Noun

free rein (plural (dated) free reins)

1. (equestrianism) A rein of a horse held loosely so that the animal can move more freely; also, the free condition that this gives to a horse.
   • [1877], Anna Sewell, “The Lady Anne, or a Runaway Horse”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 113:

     I needed no whip, or spur, for I was as eager as my rider: he saw it, and giving me a free rein, and leaning a little forward, we dashed after them.

   • 1884, Elizabeth [Platt] Karr, “The Leap—the Standing Leap—the Flying Leap”, in The American Horsewoman, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC, page 256:

     [I]n the rise during the leap, just previous to the spring, no efforts whatever must be made by the rider to support the horse, or to lift him, but instead, she should simply hold the reins so lightly that his mouth can just be felt, which is called "giving a free rein."

   • 1908, Virgil, “Book I”, in Theodore C[hickering] Williams, transl., The Æneid of Virgil Translated into English Verse, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company […], published [1910], →OCLC, page 8:

     So ceased the sea's uproar, when its grave Sire / Looked o'er th' expanse, and, riding on in light, / Flung free rein to his winged obedient car.

2. (figurative) The absence of constraints; freedom to act, decide, or speak.

   Synonyms: blank check, blank cheque; carte blanche; free hand; proxy in blank

   • a. 1645 (date written), Fra[ncis] Quarles, The Virgin Widow. A Comedie, London: […] R[ichard] Royston, […], published 1649, →OCLC, Act I, page 1:

     [H]e vvas pleas'd to lend / Free reines to mirth, and to ſuſpend thoſe cares / That claime ſuch intereſt in th' Imperiall brovv.

   • 1790, Thomas Pennant, “[Chaucer]”, in Of London, London: […] Rob[er]t Faulder, […], →OCLC, page 47:

     [Geoffrey] Chaucer gave a free rein to his poetical mirth.

   • 1861 August 9, Wendell Phillips, “Speech of Wendell Phillips, Esq. at the celebration of W. I. emancipation”, in W[illia]m Lloyd Garrison, editor, The Liberator, volume XXXI, number 32 (number 1598 overall), Boston, Mass.: J[ames] B[rown] Yerrinton & Son, […], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1, column 6:

     If you have any influence, therefore, on members of Congress, on editors, on the creators of public opinion, on your neighbors, on the rank and file of your army, teach them that with Massachusetts bayonets, it is better to be insubordinate, and shoot a Colonel, than it is, unasked, unauthorized, and Heaven-damned, to turn themselves into hunters of slaves. (Loud and prolonged cheers.) Help the Government to dare to give free rein to the ardor of the people.

   • 1913, John B. O’Connor, “Ignatius of Constantinople, Saint”, in edited by Charles G[eorge] Herbermann, Edward A[loysius] Pace, Condé B[enoist] Pallen, Thomas J[oseph] Shahan, and John J[oseph] Wynne, The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church […], special edition, volume VII, New York, N.Y.: The Encyclopedia Press, →OCLC, page 647:

     At the suggestion of the latter [Bardas], Michael [III] sought the assistance of Ignatius [of Constantinople] in an effort to force Theodora to enter a convent, in the hope of securing for himself an undivided authority and a free rein for his profligacy. The patriarch indignantly refused to be a party to such an outrage. Theodora, however, realizing the determination of her son to possess at any cost an undivided rule, voluntarily abdicated.

   • 2018 December, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in Robert Lew, editor, International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 487:

     Such hedging is necessitated by the lack of in-depth knowledge of the contents, which also gives free rein to the scripting of unsubstantiated factoids concerning the book.

   • 2021 July 21, Phil Gates, “Country diary: this forgotten grassland is a butterfly Serengeti”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-19:

     If I give my imagination free rein on this sultry afternoon, I could almost believe this shoulder-high grassland – a shimmering sea of false oat, cock’s-foot and meadow foxtail – is African savanna.

   • 2021 August 6, A. A. Dowd, “The Ryan Reynolds action-comedy Free Guy is a Truman Show for the Fortnite age”, in The A.V. Club‎^[2], archived from the original on 2023-04-19:

     Free City is, by design, a generic multiplayer sandbox—it's supposed to look like any and every free-rein video game metropolis.

Usage notes

Usually in the form to give [a] free rein to.

Alternative forms

• (absence of constraints): free reign (common, but sometimes proscribed)

Related terms

• draw rein
• rein in

Translations

rein of a horse held loosely so that the animal can move more freely; free condition that this gives to a horse

• Finnish: löysät ohjakset pl, vapaat ohjakset pl
• German: freier Lauf m
• Macedonian: лабави узди pl (labavi uzdi)

absence of constraints

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: vrijbrief (nl) m
• Finnish: vapaat kädet (fi) pl
• French: carte blanche (fr) f, champ libre (fr) m
• German: Freibrief m, freie Hand f, freier Lauf m
• Italian: a briglia sciolta, carta bianca, campo libero, mano libera
• Macedonian: необузданост f (neobuzdanost)
• Polish: wolna ręka f
• Portuguese: rédea solta, carta branca (pt)
• Russian: свобода действий (svoboda dejstvij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: разу̀ла̄рено̄ст f

  Roman razùlārenōst (sh) f

• Sicilian: a rètini scioti, a minchia china (vulgar)
• Spanish: rienda suelta, carta blanca f, barra libre
• Swedish: fria tyglar (sv) c

Further reading

• Ben Zimmer (2007 October 18) “Are We Giving Free Rei(g)n to New Spellings?”, in OUP Blog‎^[3], archived from the original on 2023-11-11.
• Maeve Maddox (2009) “Free Rein or Free Reign?”, in Daily Writing Tips‎^[4], archived from the original on 2024-04-23.

Anagrams

• re-refine, rerefine