red-handed

red-handed
red-handedness, n.
/red"han"did/, adj., adv.
in the very act of a crime, wrongdoing, etc., or in possession of self-incriminating evidence: They caught him red-handed dipping into the till.
[1810-20]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • red-handed — adj catch sb red handed to catch someone at the moment when they are doing something wrong ▪ Earl was caught red handed taking the money …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • red-handed — 1819, earlier red hand (early 15c.), originally in Scottish legal writing, from RED (Cf. red) (1) + HAND (Cf. hand), presumably from the image of a murderer caught in the act, with blood on the hands …   Etymology dictionary

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  • red-handed — [red′han′did] adv. [< the notion of the hands covered with a victim s blood] 1. while committing a crime or doing some wrong 2. in an undeniably incriminating or compromising situation …   English World dictionary

  • red-handed — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ in or just after the act of doing something wrong …   English terms dictionary

  • red-handed — /rɛd ˈhændəd / (say red handuhd) phrase catch red handed, to discover in the very act of a crime or other deed: to catch a thief red handed …  

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