finders, keepers
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A phrase meaning that whoever finds something is entitled to keep it. For example, Someone left a dollar bill in this rented car—finders, keepers. This expression alludes to an ancient Roman law to that effect and has been stated in numerous different ways over the centuries. The modern version, often stated as Finders keepers, losers weepers, dates from the mid-1800s and is no longer a legal precept.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Words nearby finders, keepers
finch, Finchley, find, finder, finder's fee, finders, keepers, Finders keepers, losers weepers, fin de siècle, find fault, finding, find it in one's heart
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use finders, keepers in a sentence
It looked as if the old jingle ought to be changed from "Finders keepers, losers weepers" to "Losers keepers, finders weepers."
We Can't Have Everything|Rupert Hughes“Finders keepers,” an old adage, kept running through his mind.
Forbidden Cargoes|Roy J. Snell