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 (General Australian):(file)

Adverb

dead to rights (not comparable)

  1. (US, idiomatic) With sufficient evidence to establish responsibility definitively.
    have someone dead to rights on something
    Because of the video replay, the ref had him dead to rights on the penalty.

Synonyms

See also

References

  1. ^ 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.”
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