earnest money

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noun Law.

money given by a buyer to a seller to bind a contract.

QUIZ

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Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

Origin of earnest money

First recorded in 1550–60

And Epstein continues to steer money toward universities to advance scientific research.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Speech, in this case, is our ability to spend money on a goofy entertainment.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I suspect [Teresa] will get money sent in to her, so she can shop at the commissary.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If nobody on the outside will send Teresa money, should she learn a prison hustle?
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

She vowed to repay the money—no official word, however, on whether she ever did that.
Fergie Dives Into Prince Andrew’s Sex Scandal|Tom Sykes|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If Mac had been alone he would have made the post by sundown, for the Mounted Police rode picked horses, the best money could buy.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
The hum of earnest or glad voices here contrasted strongly with silence and meditation there.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
All the Italian merchants in the realm of France, called money lenders, seized by order of Philip the fair, for their ransoms.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
The purchasers found that this claim was not well founded, and sought to recover their money.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
He was positive he had seen some one enter the room, go to the chair, and take the money from his pockets.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux