pay one's own freight

English

Verb

pay one's own freight (third-person singular simple present pays one's own freight, present participle paying one's own freight, simple past and past participle paid one's own freight)

1. (colloquial, dated) To pay for oneself, not relying on the generosity of others.
   • 1932, Delta Sigma Delta-Desmos, volume 38, page 151:

     If any of you want a whacking lot of experience, lots of thrills to the minute and can pay your own freight, sign up for that trip to the land of the Northern Lights.

   • 1997, Jeff Coplon, My Story, page 162:

     I missed a real job's stimulation and rested uneasy in depending upon the Royal Family. (A sound presentiment, there.) I had been on my own since the age of eighteen, and I liked how it felt to pay my own freight.

   • 2013, Cherry Adair, Relentless:

     “I have absolutely no interest in being a wealthy dilettante. I have a job. I pay my own freight. […]