caveat emptor

caveat emp‧tor /ˌkæviæt ˈemptɔː, ˌkeɪv- $ -tɔːr/ noun [uncountable]  

law term: the principle that the person who buys something is responsible for checking that it is not broken, damaged etc


- Oh, Watson!’ Holmes chided me, laughing heartily. ‘The pendant is part of
the Scandinavian crown jewels! The man must know it was obtained illegally.
All I can say to that is caveat emptor, a very sensible piece of advice to
anyone buying an article of dubious origin. (Thomson - Holmes)

- “Well, you see, it’s complicated, because—” I wasn’t worried about the
people who believed they’d unearthed genuine Sheraton at bargain prices and
hurried away with their copies thinking they’d swizzled me. The old Caveat
Emptor rule more than applied there. I’d never claimed those pieces were
genuine. What worried me was the people I’d deliberately sold—deliberately
lied to. (Tartt - Goldfinch)



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