Catch someone red-handed
Catch someone red-handed
Have someone dead to rights / Catch in the act / Catch someone with one's hands in the cookie jar
Cogliere qualcuno in flagrante
Cogliere qualcuno sul fatto
Have someone dead to rights / Catch in the act / Catch someone with one's hands in the cookie jar
Cogliere qualcuno in flagrante
Cogliere qualcuno sul fatto
Meanings
Fig.: to catch someone in the act of doing something wrong
Examples
This time I really caught my son red-handed, in every sense: his little hands were red and still in the strawberry jam jar
Questa volta ho colto mio figlio veramente in flagrante: aveva ancora le manine rosse nel vasetto della marmellata di fragoleDrunken thief gets caught red-handed after drinking all the owner's wine and falling asleep
Ladro ubriacone si addormenta dopo aver bevuto tutto il vino trovato in casa e si fa cogliere in flagranteThe cop caught the burglar red-handed and took him in right away
Il poliziotto ha colto il ladro sul fatto e l'ha portato subito dentroOrigin
This is based simply on the metaphor of a murderer caught with blood still on his hands, and therefore probably dates back to the days before firearms, when killing another person would have required a direct-contact weapon, like a dagger. It originally indicated only that kind of crime, but later on it was widened to cover any kind of felony.