Is the correct saying:
Possesion is nine tenths of the law?
—OR—
Possesion is nine points of the law?
I can understand the word “tenths,” it makes common sense. Of course we are talking about the law, which means that common sense has nothing to do with the topic. 
I’ve always used tenths, but I have a friend who SWEARS that the original saying uses the word “points”.
What’s the deal here?
That’s the original-- “Points”;
Now, I swear I’ve heard something about “On banded knee” but of course it gets twisted to “On bended knee” not surprisingly.
I had a boss who talked about something being a “mute point” which I didn’t bother correcting, sometimes it’s just smarter that way.
In a more modern vein, I hear people say “Sorry, My Bad” which I thought I’d heard originally as “Sorry, My Bag” so…
Nine tenths!!
I’ve always heard 9/10ths. To my ears, nine points just doesn;t make sense. Of course, if it’s an archaic usage…
That just doesn’t sound right. Posession is 90% of the law? Or in other words, 90% of law relates to posession? “Nine tenths” brings an air of math into this that just doesn’t sit well with me.
Possession is nine points of the law
I’ve always heard “tenths” myself, but it seems to have spun off from an older phrase.
No cite, because I can’t find it, but…
I’d always heard “nine-tenths of the law”.
I later read somewhere that the original was “nine points of the law” and that “nine-tenths” was a corruption of this, and a pretty bad one, since possession in no way makes up 90% of law in any case.
I wish I could find the book or site where I read this…might have been this one, of course, but there’s no way I’m going to attempt a search at this time of the day 
9/10th is what i’ve heard - usage was to settle disputes - who ever physically has it has a huge advantage (9/10th).
Certainly these days what people mean by 9/10ths is that you’ll have a much harder time getting something from somebody who already has it, even if you do have the law technically on your side.
Brewer, in The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1894), lists:
and makes no reference to “nine tenths,” which suggests the nine tenths was a 20th century transformation by people unfamiliar with the older form.
except it does not mention “possession is…” so it seems to be an entirely different and unrelated saying. Perhaps that’s where the confission comes from.
Well, Bibliomania’s on-line version did not include “possession,” but my fascsimile edition printed on genuine paper has a large section on “Nine” that includes this entry:
From Did Mohawks Wear Mohawks?, by Bruce Tindall and Mark Watson:
That pretty much wraps it up for me. Maybe I’ll start using the old version just to annoy everyone.
Thanks for the cites.
dylan,
My interpretation of the modern version (9/10ths) was that if you had possession, you were 90% of the way home free – not that possession law was 90% of all law.
Of course, the other side of the 9/10ths argument that I have heard used is the criminal side… as in the “I was just holding it for a friend” defense. That doesn’t free you from the fact that you had it, you’re still in trouble, because “possession is…blah, blah, blah…”
For an earlier discussion, see: Possession 9/10ths of Law?.
I’ve always heard that possession is nine tenths of the law 
So possesion is 9/12th of the law (or 3/4th)