Problems & difficulty

Catch someone red-handed

Discover someone at the moment they are doing something wrong.

Examples

  • I caught my little brother red-handed eating the last biscuit.
  • The thief was caught red-handed on the shop's camera.

How to use it

Informal. Often passive: be caught red-handed.

Where it comes from

Probably from the idea of being found with blood still on your hands after a crime.