If you have ever been guilty of something and found out, then you have been caught red-handed. Whether the biscuits in the house have gone missing only for a trail of crumbs to lead to your bedroom, or a robber who is caught in the act, we all know that such a circumstance is an instance of being caught red-handed.
Now where does this come from?
Well back in days of yore where everyone had pigs and sheeps and other cattle, then there were times where people desperate for a bit of meat would kill a sheep or cow etc that did not belong to them in order to get food - now this was a bit naughty as it wasn't theirs to kill.
This caused scandal, but sometimes the perpetrator of said time would be caught in the act - and literally caught red-handed as they had the blood on their hands, and so the origin of this phrase for catching someone out whilst performing or doing something they were not supposed to be doing.
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