nothing for nothing

a 1704 T. BROWN Works (1707) I. 131 Thou know’st the proverb, nothing due for nought.

1800 M. EDGEWORTH Castle Rackrent 167 Nothing for nothing, or I’m under a mistake with you, Jason.

1858 G. J. WHYTE-MELVILLE Interpreter xxv. Sir Harry..recollected the old-established principle of himself and his clique, ‘Nothing for nothing, and very little for a halfpenny.’

1908 A. MACLAREN Ezekiel 172 The last touch in the picture is meanness, which turned everything into money... Is not ‘nothing for nothing’ an approved maxim to-day?

1981 N. FREELING One Damn Thing after Another iv. Their heart’s not in it. Nothing for nothing and not much for sixpence.