to catch somebody with one's hand in the cookie jar
[have] {one's} [hand] in the cookie jarto catch somebody with one's hand in the cookie jar
01
to catch someone in the act of doing something wrong or inappropriate
Dialect
American
American![to [catch] {sb} with {one's} [hand] in the cookie jar definition and meaning](https://cdn.langeek.co/photo/43248/original/?type=jpeg "to [catch] {sb} with {one's} [hand] in the cookie jar definition and meaning")
Humorous
Idiom
Informal
Exempel
The police officer arrested the thief with his hand in the cookie jar as he attempted to steal from the store.
