Idiom
bang to rights
Meanings
Caught clearly doing something illegal or wrong, with strong evidence so denial is impossible.
Definition
Caught clearly doing something wrong, with undeniable proof.
"Bang to rights" means someone is caught in the act or proven guilty beyond doubt. It emphasizes that the evidence is clear and convincing, so there is no real way to deny it. It is common in British English, especially in news or informal speech about crime or wrongdoing.
Examples
- The thief was bang to rights on the security camera.
- When the manager checked the logs, he had her bang to rights.
- They were bang to rights, so they admitted what they’d done.
- The cops caught him bang to rights as he tried to climb out the window.
More at C1 level
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More idiom (adverbial phrase)s
- come hell or high water No matter what happens or how difficult things become.
- in a nutshell Used to give a brief, clear summary of something.
- by hook or by crook By hook or by crook means using any possible method to achieve something, whether fair or not.
- out of left field If something comes out of left field, it is very surprising and unexpected.
- once in a blue moon If something happens once in a blue moon, it happens very rarely.