finders, keepers

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

“The hounds did not find Bertha. I did—with a bit of help from the wolf children. So the ostrich is still mine, Ashton. Finders keepers, that’s what you said.”

From Literature

“With any luck I’ll be back at the house long before then, smoking Ashton’s cigars, with Bertha safely locked up in the POE. ‘Finders keepers,’ he says.

From Literature

“Finders keepers, I say. A velocipede belongs to the person who’s riding it. Case closed, what?”

From Literature

“First we must determine: Was the velocipede lost, abandoned, or stolen? In my view it makes all the difference. For if it was lost or abandoned, then I agree with Ashton. Finders keepers.”

From Literature

“In other words, finders keepers! Speaking of which, what is the condition of those Incorrigible pups these days?”

From Literature