Finders, keepers is the adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it can claim it. This idiom relates to an ancient Roman law of similar meaning and has been expressed in various ways over the centuries. Of particular difficulty is how best to define when exactly something is unowned or abandoned, which can lead to legal or ethical disputes.
Read more about Finders, Keepers: Application, Children's Usage
Famous quotes containing the word keepers:
“I am wont to think that men are not so much the keepers of herds as herds are the keepers of men, the former are so much the freer.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)