Caught red-handed

It occurred to me yesterday that the term, “to be caught red-handed”, is identical in meaning to being “caught with blood on ones hands”. Well, that’s fairly obvious you might think, but to me, I never associated “red” with “blood”. In fact, it could just as easily have been “to be caught green-handed” or “to be caught iridescent-violet-with-squiggly-blue-stripes-handed”, and it would have still been some cliché to describe being found in the act of the crime.

I think the reason that I never realised this earlier, was because the first time I heard the expression was on a Muppets movie about a jewel robbery when I was somewhat shorter than I am now, and being young and innocent, I never associated the metaphor with bloody murder, and from that point on it was just an unquestioned cliché.

That reminds me of when the “don’t drink and drive” add campaigns first came out. It seemed to me to be a sensible enough message, as trying to drive with one hand whilst drinking with the other could be dangerous, yet it seemed strange that eating whilst driving wasn’t targeted either. Needless to say the actual reason became clear to me, if only a few years later, when I learned of the evils of alcohol.

Ah, so loftier the views now are, having ascended another rung on the ladder of wisdom!

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on any other such epiphanies that I receive which may educate the masses, or me at least.