Adage in the context of "Finders, keepers"

An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek ἐπίγραμμα (epígramma, "inscription", from ἐπιγράφειν [epigráphein], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia.

The presence of wit or sarcasm tends to distinguish non-poetic epigrams from aphorisms and adages, which typically do not show those qualities.

An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: aphorismos, denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tradition from generation to generation.

The concept is generally distinct from those of an adage, brocard, chiasmus, epigram, maxim (legal or philosophical), principle, proverb, and saying; although some of these concepts could be construed as types of aphorism.

The Glossa ordinaria (also known as Glossa magna, Glossa magistralis and Glossa accursiana) is a collection of 96,940 marginal annotations (glossa marginalis) in Latin by the Italian jurist Accursius (c. 1181/1185–1259/1263) on the Corpus Iuris Civilis, a collection of Roman law by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). The name Glossa ordinaria refers to fact that the gloss by Accursius was the "ordinary" or "standard" gloss on the Corpus Iuris Civilis.

Modern scholarship contends that the Glossa ordinaria maintained its authoritative status as leading commentary on the Corpus Iuris Civilis in Europe up to the 17th century, which is signified by the adage "Quidquid non agnoscit Glossa, non agnoscit curia" (lit. 'Whatever the Gloss does not recognize, the court does not recognize').