get out of jail free card

plural get out of jail free cards · alternative get-out-of-jail-free card

1. idiomaticinformalA certain privilege or advantage that provides relief from an undesirable situation or immunity from punishment or consequences.

   2 more examples

   "I don't care to know who spanked her or looked at her cross-eyed when she was little." "Trust me, Henry," Ivy said. "It goes way beyond spanking." "So that gives her a get-out-of-jail-free card?" "Of course it doesn't. What I am saying is―" "No, here's what I'm saying. She's combative, she refuses to do the work, and if she shows up in my class wearing those penis earrings again, she's going to get the boot, same as she got today."

   2008, Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, Ch.2, at p.35

   ...this decision is not intended to send out a message that due to the pandemic there exists a revolving door policy for offenders to commit crime with the expectation of release or that offenders can now benefit with a "get out of jail free" card. Indeed, if this were the case generally, it would erode the public confidence in the criminal justice system, especially as it pertains to violent offenders or crimes of violence.

   2020 March 30, A.J. Goodman, “R. v. T.K., 2020 ONSC 1935”, in CanLII, retrieved 14 Sep 2023

   Synonyms: exemption, free pass, immunity, scotfree