catch red-handed
Discover during wrongdoing
To catch someone red-handed is to discover them in the act of doing something wrong or illegal: The security guard caught him red-handed stealing from the register.
The image is of a murderer or poacher with blood still on their hands—evidence too fresh to deny.
The phrase almost always appears with catch, though caught red-handed is most common.
- smoking gunIrrefutable proof of wrongdoing
- bustedApprehended or broken
- slip upMinor mistake or error
- captureTake into custody
- apprehendSeize or understand
exposed · on the spot · arrested · seized · police custody · guilt · guilty as charged · confession · incriminate · culpable · in flagrante delicto · dead to rights · fingerprints · dead giveaway · proof · shame · walk of shame · detain
catch red-handedget away with it
slip through the cracks · fly under the radar · cover one's tracks · leave no trace · turn a blind eye
catch, catches, caught, catching, catcher, catchers, redder, reddest, redness