Idiom: Red-Handed
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red-handedMeanings
From red + handed, likening to a murderer with their hands red with the victim's blood. The phrase to be taken with red hand originally meant "to be caught in the act". The use of red hand in this sense goes back to 15th-century Scotland and Scots law. Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1819) contains the first recorded use of taken red-handed for someone apprehended in the act of committing a crime. The expression subsequently became more common as caught red-handed.[1]
How to pronounce "red-handed":
AU
Showing clear evidence of guilt; in the act of wrongdoing.
Example: "to catch red-handed"
Deadly, bloody.
With hands that are red from blood.
Example Sentences
1
The thief was caught red-handed stealing a wallet from the shop.
2
The police found the burglar red-handed with the stolen jewelry.
3
She was caught red-handed cheating on the exam using her phone.
4
The children were caught red-handed sneaking cookies from the jar.
5
He was apprehended red-handed while attempting to break into a car.
