Need help with British (vs. US) English

[dragonyphoenix]

Need some British-speak help. Here in the US there's a phrase, "hand caught in the cookie jar" which basically means you've been caught doing something you shouldn't. I like it for the scene I'm writing because it suggests a kid or someone who is young getting caught. I THINK what we call cookies are called biscuits in the UK. If so, it seems unlikely that you'd use the same phrase. What other phrase could I use?

Comments

[gillo]

Well, we don't have cookies, that's true. "Hand caught in the till" is a bit adult. "caught with his hand in the sweetie tin/jar" would probably work best. We never talk about candy as a generic, and adults would probably say "sweets" or even "confectionery", but kids usually talk about "sweets".

[not-vacillating.livejournal.com]

'Caught red-handed' is the phrase I would use (London), although I confess I'm not entirely sure of the origin of it!