have a free hand—have freedom of action in affairs that one has to deal with:
- The new president had a relatively free hand to implement reforms.
have one’s hands free—said of smb. whose time is not occupied by anything:
- The Duke of Normandy now had his hands free to pursue the conquest of Maine.
Note:
a) Neither expression correlates in meaning with the compound free-handed—generous; giving and spending money freely:
- Pike was free-handed, especially to his kinspeople.
b) Neither expression correlates in meaning with the compound freehand—done by hand without mechanical aids or devices:
- Make a freehand drawing of an interior of a room.