Dad was a stickler for using words correctly. He did NOT like the phrase "free gift." Dad said a gift, by definition, is free. Therefore the word "free" had no business being printed along with the word "gift."Dad cringed every time he saw it in print or heard someone say the phrase. After Dad's death a friend related encounters with Dad over this phrase. Dad did printing for Jack and his business. Jack sometimes wanted "free gift" on printed materials. Jack said he and Dad would go around in circles about the use of the phrase. Jack insisted people wouldn't understand unless it said free gift. Dad said the word "free" was totally unnecessary.
Whenever you see the phrase "free gift" you know to read the fine print - it's never really free. (You aren't meant to be able to read this fine print. It's for illustration only :)
picture - May 1985
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