What does it mean when you say finders keepers losers weepers?

—used especially in children’s speech to say that a person can keep what he or she has found and does not need to give it back to the person who has lost it.

Where does the phrase finders keepers losers weepers come from?

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.

Who made the saying finders keepers losers weepers?

Origin of Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers Sources put the earliest written uses of this general expression at 200 B.C., by the Roman playwright Plautus. Early English sources appear in the 16th century.

How do you use finders keepers in a sentence?

A children’s rhyme meaning that if someone finds something, they are entitled to keep it (even if it belongs to someone else). Jake yelled “finders keepers” as he dashed toward the house with the sparkling ring he had discovered. A: “Hey, that’s my favorite toy!” B: “But I found it out on the playground.

Are Finders Keepers legal?

Generally, “the finder of lost property can keep it against all the world… In California, there is a law mandating that any found property valued over $100 be turned over to police.

What is the meaning of weepers?

1a : one that weeps. b : a professional mourner. 2 : a small statue of a figure in mourning on a funeral monument. 3 : a badge of mourning worn especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. 4 weepers plural : long and flowing side-whiskers.

Are Finders Keepers illegal?

What is the rule of finders keepers?

Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children’s rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themselves permanently.

How do you write Finders Keepers?

Today, finders keepers, losers weepers is most often used by children when finding a prized object, even if they know to whom the object originally belonged. Note that finders keepers, losers weepers is not spelled with any apostrophes.

Are Finders Keepers stealing?

Theft by finding occurs when someone chances upon an object which seems abandoned and takes possession of the object but fails to take steps to establish whether the object is genuinely abandoned and not merely lost or unattended. In some jurisdictions the crime is called “larceny by finding” or “stealing by finding”.

Can you keep money if you find it?

Were we under a legal obligation to do anything with the money? Every state has laws requiring the return of money or property if it is possible to identify the owner. As a result, if you find a wallet full of cash and an ID, you cannot legally pocket the cash because the owner is recognizable.

What are weepers in Dishonored?

Weepers are plague-infected humans who act more or less like zombies. They have discolored skin, and subconjunctival haemorrhages, which cause blood to drip from their eyes in a tear-like fashion, hence there name.

What is the meaning of Finders Keepers Losers Weepers?

If someone finds something, they are entitled to keep it (even if it belongs to someone else). This phrase is part of the children’s rhyme “finders keepers, losers weepers.” Jake yelled “finders keepers” as he dashed toward the house with the sparkling ring he had discovered.

When did Losers Weepers become a legal term?

The modern version, often stated as Finders keepers, losers weepers, dates from the mid-1800s and is no longer a legal precept. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust.

Why do people cry when they lose something in Finders Keepers?

Definition: Those who obtain something simply by discovering it are entitled to keep it.. If someone loses something, the person who finds it can keep it, and all the person who lost it can do is cry about it. Most people know this idiom as a children’s rhyme.

What does the children’s rhyme ” Finders Keepers ” mean?

A children’s rhyme meaning that if someone finds something, they are entitled to keep it (even if it belongs to someone else). Jake yelled “finders keepers” as he dashed toward the house with the sparkling ring he had discovered. A: “Hey, that’s my favorite toy!” B: “But I found it out on the playground. Finders keepers, losers weepers!”