freedom

1. Abstract liberty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be found —Edmund Burke
2. (They just) broke free like the water —Boris Pasternak
3. Broke free like the sun rising out of the sea —Miller Williams
4. Feels freedom like oxygen everywhere around him —John Updike
5. Felt like a volatile gas released from a bottle —Olivia Manning

   See Also: PHYSICAL FEELINGS

6. Foot-loose as a ram —Irvin S. Cobb
7. (I am) free as a breeze, free like a bird in the woodland wild, free like a gypsy, free like a child —Oscar Hammerstein, II, from lyric for Oklahoma

   Hammerstein used the multiple simile to paint a picture of an unattached man bemoaning the speed with which his situation can change.

8. Free as a fat bird —John D. MacDonald
9. Free as air —Alexander Pope

   The simile in full context is as follows: “Love, free as air at sight of human ties, spreads his light wings, and in a moment flies.”

10. Free as a pig in a pen —Anon, from American song, “The Lane County Bachelor”
11. Free, as happens in the downfall of habit when the mind, like an unguarded flame, bows and bends and seems about to blow from its holding —Virginia Woolf
12. Free as is the wind —William Shakespeare

    A popular variation attributed to James Montgomery is, “Free as the breeze.”

13. Free as Nature first made man —John Dryden
14. Free as Nature is —James Thompson
15. Free as the grace of God and twice as plentiful —Anon
16. Freed, like colored kites torn loose from their strings —Rainer Maria Rilke
17. Freedom and responsibility are like Siamese twins, they die if they are parted —Lillian Smith

    See Also: RELIABILITY

18. Freedom is like drink. If you take any at all, you might as well take enough to make you happy for a while —Finley Peter Dunne

    Several words have been changed from Dunne’s dialect: any was ‘nny,’ ‘for’ was ‘f’r.’

19. Free speech is like garlic. If you are perfectly sure of yourself, you enjoy it and your friends tolerate it —Lynn White, Jr., Look, April 17, 1956
20. Free will and determinism are like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism. The way you play your hand represents free will —Norman Cousins
21. Independence, like honor, is a rocky island without a beach —Napoleon Bonaparte
22. Independent as a hog on ice —American colloquialism, attributed to New England
23. Independent as a wild horse —Anon

    According to Irving Stone, author of The Passionate Journey, this simile was used to describe the father of his fictional biography’s hero, John Noble.

24. A laissez-faire policy is like spoiling a child by saying he’ll turn out all right in the end. He will, if he’s made to —F. Scott Fitzgerald
25. Liberty, like charity, must begin at home —James Conant

    Yet another twist on that much adopted and adapted charity comparison.

    See Also: BELIEFS, CHANGE, CRITICISM, PEACE, SENSE

26. Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce, as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship —Patrick Henry
27. There is no such thing as an achieved liberty; like electricity, there can be no substantial storage and it must be generated as it is enjoyed, or the lights go out —Robert H. Jackson
28. Unrestricted like the rain —Mark Twain

carte blanche Full discretionary power, unrestricted freedom, blanket permission; a blank check; literally, white paper or chart. In its original military usage, the term referred to the blank form used to indicate unconditional surrender, on which the victor could dictate his own terms. The phrase is now used only figuratively, and has been so used for some time:

The figuratively synonymous blank check refers literally to an executed check on which the amount is left unspecified to be filled in by its bearer or receiver.

the coast is clear Nothing stands in the way of one’s progress or activity; there is little danger that anyone in authority will witness or interfere with one’s actions; “Go ahead, nobody’s looking.” This expression was originally used by smugglers to indicate that no coast guard was in the vicinity to prevent their landing or embarking. Its use is still largely limited to contexts implying wrongdoing, though such may range from mischievous misbehavior to criminal activity.

give a wide berth to To allow latitude, leeway, or freedom; to shun, to stay clear of; to remain a discreet distance from. Dating from the 17th century, berth is a nautical term which refers to a sufficient amount of space for a ship at anchor to swing freely, or enough distance for a ship under sail to avoid other ships, rocks, the shore, etc. Give or keep a wide berth gained currency in the 1800s and has since been used in nautical and nonnautical contexts.

give enough rope To give someone a considerable amount of freedom with the expectation that he will act in an embarrassing or self-destructive way; to grant just enough leeway that a person may set and fall into his own trap. This expression has been in use since the 17th century and is equally familiar in the longer version—give [someone] enough rope and [he’ll] hang himself. A rope is often used as a leash or rein to control freedom of movement. Perhaps this expression derives from the fact that it is easy to trip or become entangled by too much rope. The second half of the expression plays on the idea of a rope as a cord for hanging a person.

no strings attached No stipulations or restrictions; no fine print. This common expression, perhaps an allusion to puppets that are controlled by strings, implies the lack of catches or hidden conditions in an undertaking or purchase. The phrase may be varied to assume its opposite sense.