Caught Red-Handed Meaning
Definition: To witness someone in the act of doing something wrong, immoral, or illegal.
This idiom is typically used when someone has witnessed another person committing a crime or doing something wrong. Previously, “red-hand” or “red-handed” referred specifically to the act of committing a crime.
The contemporary definition no longer applies only to crime. Today, someone may use this idiom when he or she has witnessed someone doing something wrong. For example, a mother might catch her son “red-handed” if she sees him attempting to sneak out of the house when he is supposed to be asleep.
Origin of Caught Red-Handed
Prior to the nineteenth century, “red-hand” was already a popular term in Scotland that referred to someone who had committed a crime. “Red-hand” was first used in the same context in 1432, in the Scottish Acts of Parliament of James I.
“Red-handed” was coined by Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott and was first used in his novel Ivanhoe in 1819. Though Scott is typically credited for coining the phrase, the first person to use the full idiom “caught red-handed” was English writer George Alfred Lawrence. It first appeared in his novel Guy Livingstone in 1857.
A related alternative meaning of “red-handed” refers to having blood on one’s hands after committing murder. This definition is thought to have originated in Scotland as well, but it is also attributed to a medieval Irish legend.
Examples of Caught Red-Handed
Today, people tend to use the idiom when they have caught someone doing something wrong. An example conversation between a store clerk and a young boy’s father illustrates the correct use of this idiom.
Denise: Sir, your son just tried to steal this candy bar.
John: He did no such thing. I was watching him the whole time!
Denise: Yes, he did! I caught him red handed!
More Examples
- “He was pretty much caught red-handed,” said Luke Zamperini, chief inspector for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. “He’s got to either get permits for what he has done or demolish the illegal construction.” –LA Times
- A man from Highlands Ranch was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of robbing a bank Tuesday after he was caught red-handed. –The Denver Post
Summary
The English phrase caught red-handed means to witness someone in the act of committing a crime or doing something considered wrong or immoral.
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