have dead to rights

have someone dead to rights

Fig. to have caught someone red-handed; to have irrefutable evidence about someone's misdeed. We have you dead to rights on this one. The cops had him dead to rights with damning testimony of two eyewitnesses.

See also: dead, have, right

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have somebody dead to rights also catch somebody dead to rights

found in the act of doing something wrong The police had him dead to rights selling drugs.

See also: dead, have, right