Pottery Barn rule

English Etymology Named after the American home furnishing chain Pottery Barn (though the chain does not have such a policy). Noun pottery barn rule A policy by which a retail store holds a customer responsible for damage done to merchandise on display. en politics The principle that a country that invades or overthrows the government of another is responsible for stabilising and rebuilding that country. en 2014-04-24 Don E. Scheid The Ethics of Armed Humanitarian Intervention Cambridge University Press 9781107036369 138 Under these circumstances, the United States and its allies acted unjustly in invading Iraq. Does this set of circumstances give us any reason to think that the Pottery Barn rule now provides us with practical guidance? See also en you break it, you buy it