dead to rights
English
Etymology
US, 1854, originally New York City criminal slang,[1] thence entered general use. dead (“completely, utterly”) + to rights (“properly”).
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Adverb
dead to rights (not comparable)
- (US, idiomatic) With sufficient evidence to establish responsibility definitively.
- Because of the video replay, the ref had him dead to rights on the penalty.
Synonyms
- bang to rights
- red-handed
References
- Vocabulum: Or, The Rogue's Lexicon. Comp. from the Most Authentic Sources, George Washington Matsell (1859), p. 25: “DEAD TO RIGHTS. Positively guilty, and no way of getting clear.”
- Origin of the expression “Dead to rights”?