Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, second edition (2013) has this entry: on the house At the

expense of the establishment, as in This hotel serves an afternoon tea that’s on the house. In this idiom the word house is defined as an inn, tavern, or other building served in the public. ” Recent 1800s

Presumably the phrasing “on the house” implies something like “on the house’s dime” or “on the house’s tab.” ”

An Elephind search turns up an instance of “on the house” in the relevant sense from 12 years before 1889 (the earliest cited date in the OED, according to user66974’s answer) From ” The Insolence of Office,” in the Weekly Union Sentinel (September 21, 1877): Yesterday

afternoon two professional dead beats, known as spotters in the revenue department of the United States Government, went into a saloon kept by a respectable citizen and demanded an inspection of the cigar boxes. What he did with the boxes of cigars was to show them up promptly. The other officers then proposed to have drinks ” on the house,” a proposition which the house failed to agree to, whereupon the other beat remarked, never mind, I know the old ——, and I’ll have him up in less than a week.

In The Spire, the sense of the expression “on the house” here appears to be exactly the same as

it is today.

Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, second edition (2013) has this entry: on the house At the

expense of the establishment, as in This hotel serves an afternoon tea that’s on the house. In this idiom the word house is defined as an inn, tavern, or other building served in the public. ” Recent 1800s

Presumably the phrasing “on the house” implies something like “on the house’s dime” or “on the house’s tab.” ”

An Elephind search turns up an instance of “on the house” in the relevant sense from 12 years before 1889 (the earliest cited date in the OED, according to user66974’s answer) From ” The Insolence of Office,” in the Weekly Union Sentinel (September 21, 1877): Yesterday

afternoon two professional dead beats, known as spotters in the revenue department of the United States Government, went into a saloon kept by a respectable citizen and demanded an inspection of the cigar boxes. What he did with the boxes of cigars was to show them up promptly. The other officers then proposed to have drinks ” on the house,” a proposition which the house failed to agree to, whereupon the other beat remarked, never mind, I know the old ——, and I’ll have him up in less than a week.

In The Spire, the sense of the expression “on the house” here appears to be exactly the same as

it is today.

Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, second edition (2013) has this entry: on the house At the

expense of the establishment, as in This hotel serves an afternoon tea that’s on the house. In this idiom the word house is defined as an inn, tavern, or other building served in the public. ” Recent 1800s

Presumably the phrasing “on the house” implies something like “on the house’s dime” or “on the house’s tab.” ”

An Elephind search turns up an instance of “on the house” in the relevant sense from 12 years before 1889 (the earliest cited date in the OED, according to user66974’s answer) From ” The Insolence of Office,” in the Weekly Union Sentinel (September 21, 1877): Yesterday

afternoon two professional dead beats, known as spotters in the revenue department of the United States Government, went into a saloon kept by a respectable citizen and demanded an inspection of the cigar boxes. What he did with the boxes of cigars was to show them up promptly. The other officers then proposed to have drinks ” on the house,” a proposition which the house failed to agree to, whereupon the other beat remarked, never mind, I know the old ——, and I’ll have him up in less than a week.

In The Spire, the sense of the expression “on the house” here appears to be exactly the same as

it is today.

On the house, is a synonym of free because of its usage in bar across the United States and other English speaking countries to describe free drinks. If the bartender said that a drink was on house, he means that the the drink was paid for (on table) by (house) by the bar. In essence when the bartender said on the house he meant he was giving you a free drink. Once popular in books and movies, the term is no longer used. It is used

more and more in TV and movies.

On the house, is a synonym of free because of its usage in bar across the United States and other English speaking countries to describe free drinks. If the bartender said that a drink was on house, he means that the the drink was paid for (on table) by (house) by the bar. In essence when the bartender said on the house he meant he was giving you a free drink. Once popular in books and movies, the term is no longer used. It is used

more and more in TV and movies.

Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, second edition (2013) has this entry: on the house At the

expense of the establishment, as in This hotel serves an afternoon tea that’s on the house. In this idiom the word house is defined as an inn, tavern, or other building served in the public. ” Recent 1800s

Presumably the phrasing “on the house” implies something like “on the house’s dime” or “on the house’s tab.” ”

An Elephind search turns up an instance of “on the house” in the relevant sense from 12 years before 1889 (the earliest cited date in the OED, according to user66974’s answer) From ” The Insolence of Office,” in the Weekly Union Sentinel (September 21, 1877): Yesterday

afternoon two professional dead beats, known as spotters in the revenue department of the United States Government, went into a saloon kept by a respectable citizen and demanded an inspection of the cigar boxes. What he did with the boxes of cigars was to show them up promptly. The other officers then proposed to have drinks ” on the house,” a proposition which the house failed to agree to, whereupon the other beat remarked, never mind, I know the old ——, and I’ll have him up in less than a week.

In The Spire, the sense of the expression “on the house” here appears to be exactly the same as

it is today.

Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, second edition (2013) has this entry: on the house At the

expense of the establishment, as in This hotel serves an afternoon tea that’s on the house. In this idiom the word house is defined as an inn, tavern, or other building served in the public. ” Recent 1800s

Presumably the phrasing “on the house” implies something like “on the house’s dime” or “on the house’s tab.” ”

An Elephind search turns up an instance of “on the house” in the relevant sense from 12 years before 1889 (the earliest cited date in the OED, according to user66974’s answer) From ” The Insolence of Office,” in the Weekly Union Sentinel (September 21, 1877): Yesterday

afternoon two professional dead beats, known as spotters in the revenue department of the United States Government, went into a saloon kept by a respectable citizen and demanded an inspection of the cigar boxes. What he did with the boxes of cigars was to show them up promptly. The other officers then proposed to have drinks ” on the house,” a proposition which the house failed to agree to, whereupon the other beat remarked, never mind, I know the old ——, and I’ll have him up in less than a week.

In The Spire, the sense of the expression “on the house” here appears to be exactly the same as

it is today.