free lance
    n 1: a writer or artist who sells services to different
         employers without a long-term contract with any of them
         [syn: freelancer, freelance, free-lance, free
         lance, independent, self-employed person]

Lance \Lance\ (l[a^]ns), n. [OE. lance, F. lance, fr. L. lancea;
   cf. Gr. lo`gchh. Cf. Launch.]
   1. A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and
      a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen, and
      often decorated with a small flag; also, a spear or
      harpoon used by whalers and fishermen.
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            A braver soldier never couched lance. --Shak.
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   2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
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   3. (Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the
      mold in casting a shell.
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   4. (Mil.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece
      of ordnance and forces it home.
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   5. (Pyrotech.) One of the small paper cases filled with
      combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a
      figure.
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   6. (Med.) A lancet.
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   Free lance, in the Middle Ages, and subsequently, a knight
      or roving soldier, who was free to engage for any state or
      commander that purchased his services; hence, a person who
      assails institutions or opinions on his own responsibility
      without regard to party lines or deference to authority.
      See also freelance, n. and a., and freelancer.

   Lance bucket (Cavalry), a socket attached to a saddle or
      stirrup strap, in which to rest the but of a lance.

   Lance corporal, same as Lancepesade.

   Lance knight, a lansquenet. --B. Jonson.

   Lance snake (Zool.), the fer-de-lance.

   Stink-fire lance (Mil.), a kind of fuse filled with a
      composition which burns with a suffocating odor; -- used
      in the counter operations of miners.

   To break a lance, to engage in a tilt or contest.
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