on approval

on approval idiom
To be returned if not satisfactory, as in They're offering custom-made shoes, manufactured from a computer design, on approval. This expression, applied nearly always to the purchase of goods, was first recorded in 1870.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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