This pedantic objection is silly. First of all, nobody (well, no adult) is going to think that free means that it didn't cost anything -- there is no manipulati

This pedantic objection is silly. First of all, nobody (well, no adult) is going to think that free means that it didn't cost anything -- there is no manipulation going on. But secondly, I would argue that the word doesn't mean what you are implying. If a bar offers you a free beer, would you also object that it was in fact paid for by someone? What would ever be "free", by your definition? Weather?