Buzz
The term 'caught red handed' traces back to Scotland in the 15th century. Originally, the phrase 'red hand' or 'redhand' likely referred to individuals found with blood on their hands, either from committing murder or poaching.
The earliest known reference to 'red hand' appears in the Scottish Acts of Parliament of James I, written in 1432:
That the offender be taken reid hand, may be persewed, and put to the knawledge of ane Assise, befoir the Barron or Landeslord of the land or ground, quhidder the offender be his tennent, unto quhom the wrang is done or not… And uthers not taken reid hand, to be alwaies persewed befoir the…
The phrase later appeared repeatedly in various legal contexts in Scotland, almost always to describe someone caught in the act of committing a crime, such as 'apprehended redhand' or 'taken with redhand.'
The first recorded change from 'red hand' to 'red handed' occurred in the early 19th century, in the novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott:
I did but tie one fellow, who was taken redhanded and in the fact, to the horns of a wild stag.
Its appearance in Ivanhoe played a significant role in spreading the phrase throughout the English-speaking world.
The phrase 'Caught red handed' made its first appearance in Guy Livingstone, a novel by George Alfred Lawrence, published in 1857:
My companion grabbed the object; and we had just enough time to identify it as a bell-handle and name-plate when the pursuers arrived – six or seven 'peelers' and specials, accompanied by a crowd of men and boys. We were immediately seized. The fact that we had the property in our possession established a 'flagrans delictum' – we were caught red-handed.
