for the asking
3
3.0
- idiom
- Literature
:
a pedido
- He had vast wealth; every pleasure in life was his for the asking, but all this had become stale and unsatisfying.
- for the asking
- just for the asking
- there for the asking
Examples
-
It's all available for the asking.
Blog text (28) -
All of Daddy's riches, servants, and companionship were simply there for the asking.
Blog text (13) -
Could they not have had a similar notice to say that birth control was available for the asking?
Fiction book (1990) -
Jesus Christ is the only hope for anyone and is free for the asking.
Blog text (18) -
We had it all just for the asking.
Fiction book (1990) -
I will share it with you for the asking.
Blog text (2) -
It's yours for the asking; it's something that comes from deep inside your soul. Go inside yourself and find you.
Blog text (34) -
And it is there for the asking, no conditions, no expectations.
Blog text (25) -
There are always scholarships available for the asking, but I do not think that most people who need them will ask.
Blog text (6) -
It's for the asking through a wide variety of public and private sources.
Synonyms
3
2.5
People can get it when they ask for it
How Obtainable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'available to anyone who requests it' is directly built from 'for' (indicating purpose/recipient) plus 'asking' (the act of requesting); a learner who knows these words can infer that something is obtainable by asking. The definite article 'the' does not block compositional interpretation and similar constructions exist in other languages, so the phrase is transparently interpretable.
Etymology
For the asking comes from a simple picture of something ready to be given when you ask for it. So the phrase means 'available to anyone who asks'.