Quote
1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.
“I liked the idea of being on a paid network that allowed me to improvise and curse. I thought it’d be fun and freeing. When I went in to audition, they really let me have free rein.”
—Actor and Comedian Ben Schwartz, speaking about being on the show House of Lies (AV Club)
Definition
1. Definition - Study the definition.
ability to do whatever you want
2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.
Horses can be wild animals. If you ride one, it can be very difficult to control and rein them in. But that horse would probably really love to just run free every once in awhile! They could gallop, prance, and run free in a meadow. No rider, no boss, no reins! They could have some free rein.
Free rein is when we have the ability to do what we want. There are no rules or limitations. We might have free rein at home when no one is there. We might have free rein with a project at work when the boss tells us we have full control of it. When we are adults, we have free rein over our lives.
If you are creative like Ben Schwartz, you will love times when you have free rein over your work. When he auditioned for a TV show, the directors didn’t boss him around. They didn’t give him many directions. They gave him the freedom to experiment and play around. Just like a horse off of the reins, he was able to run free. He did very well on his audition.
What is a time when you had free rein? How did you feel?
Examples
1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.
“When my husband’s away, I have free rein over the house and can leave my stuff wherever I want.”
“She’s always interrupting me. It’s like she thinks she has free rein over the conversation just because she has a loud voice.”
“I’ll let you make dinner if you give me free rein over dessert.”