My comments:
House here is a colloquialism for the café, bar, pub or restaurant or whatever such building (house) you’re in – where you wine and dine.
When the drink is “on the house”, it means the owner of the place pays for it out of his own pocket, by way of showing extra hospitality.
That is to say, the cost of the drink is put “on the house”, not on you.
To wit, you have it for free.
Related stories:
本文僅代表作者本人觀點(diǎn),與本網(wǎng)立場(chǎng)無關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學(xué)術(shù)問題,尊重他人,禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國(guó)家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。
About the author:
Zhang Xin(張欣) has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.