possession is nine points of the law

Idioms  

1. Actually holding something is better than merely claiming it. For example, When Karen told John he must return the sofa he'd borrowed, he said possession is nine points of the law. This term originally alluded to nine elements that would aid someone's lawsuit, among them a good lawyer, good witnesses, a good jury, a good judge, and good luck. In time, however, the term was used more for squatter's rights. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

Turkey set covetous eyes on Mosul, synonym for oil; Britain set faith on the adage "possession is nine points of the law."

From Time Magazine Archive

I need hardly tell you that possession is nine points of the law, and that we intend to remain.

From Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice, or, the Wreck of the Airship by Appleton, Victor [pseud.]

The impression left is, that whether judged by the test of conformity to necessary principles, or by the old maxim "possession is nine points of the law," Esperanto has no serious rival.

From International Language Past, Present and Future: With Specimens of Esperanto and Grammar by Clark, Walter John

And thus, on the principle that "possession is nine points of the law," it secures for its roots the use of a certain amount of territory quite safe from the encroachments of other plants.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 648, June 2, 1888. by Various

"You forget your own important interests—remember that possession is nine points of the law."

From The Two Admirals by Cooper, James Fenimore