The term red-handed It has its origin in Latin and means "caught at the very moment a crime is committed." Of course, with such a definition, there is no doubt that it is applied mainly in law or justice, but it has expanded to diverse areas, such as novels, journalistic chronicles and also popular speech..
The etymology of the term is made up of the Latin verb "flagrare" which means "to burn" or "to burn". Actually, the original term is "in flagranti" and it meant "crime", and with the passage of time it was finished in Spanish in the seventeenth century to become "in flagrant" (something that we will see later).
From that moment on there was a phenomenon of mutation or assimilation of consonants: "flagrant" became for popular speech to be "fragrant". Hence, the two forms were taken as valid, as well as "fraganti" or "flagranti", also deriving from hearing it said and seeing it written all together: "infraganti".
But we put aside the tremendous salad of terms to point out that the first appearance in the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy occurred in 1837 and defines this term as an adverb so that it is used to indicate an action that happens at the same moment in which an illicit or a reprehensible action happens.
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The Spanish equivalent of red-handed is "flagrante", and it is also recognized by the RAE, although it has some different definitions. He defines it as an adjective that flagrant, which is used to refer to an event that is happening at that moment, or about something that is so evident that no evidence is necessary.
Another similar term, always linked to the world of law, is "flagrante delicto", which is one that is carried out publicly and whose perpetrator is seen by witnesses at the very moment it was committed..
Of course, in the vulgar sphere, the term also has synonyms such as “red-handed” or a little less informal, “exposed” or “naked” or simply “surprise”.
A term or word contrary to "red-handed" can be unpunished, which refers to a person or event that has no punishment, also widely used in legal jargon. However, it is not entirely a direct antonym..
We have already said that where it is most applied is in the law, whether in the drafting of rulings or in the drafting of laws. For example: "Article 492 says that the police officer is empowered to arrest criminals in fragrant, escaped from detention centers or processed in absentia".
Another area where it is used a lot is in the journalistic world, not only in the writing of police articles, but also in gossip or gossip. For example: "Tiger Woods was discovered red-handed with his lover".
It is also used as a resource or metaphor to indicate an article that will leave the protagonist "naked", such as the title of the book "Pablo Escobar: In Fraganti".
To close, it is good to bear in mind that this is how Latin once again fills lexical gaps to express ideas with great precision despite the fact that it is a language that nowadays no country speaks it officially..
Oh, and all the various ways in which the term protagonist was referred to in this article are thankfully accepted. So write it however you like!!
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