| unrestricted freedom or authority: They gave the decorator a free hand. |

| free hand n. Freedom to do or decide as one sees fit. |
free hand
Also, free rein. Freedom to do or decide as one sees fit. For example, The teacher gave her assistant a free hand with the class, or They gave me free rein to reorganize the department. The first expression dates from the late 1800s, the second from the mid-1900s.