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• whodunnit

語源

Coined by critic Donald Gordon in 1930. An alteration and univerbation of who done it? with ellipsis of has.

発音

• (英国発音, 米国発音) IPA: /ˌhuːˈdʌn.ɪt/

名詞

whodunit (plural whodunits)

1. A novel or drama concerning a crime (usually a murder) in which a detective follows clues to determine the perpetrator.

   Synonyms: detective novel, detective story, mystery story

   Hypernym: thriller

   • 1946, Josephina Niggli, Pointers on radio writing, Boston: The Writer, Inc., page 25:

     Actually, an whodunit is a mystery story. The hero is generally a detective, although sometimes he is a gentleman (apparently a mild mannered worm) who sallies forth at night to become Public Enemy No. One of Crime. Otherwise, the formula is exactly the same as that of the Cliff-hanger and follows the same rules.

関連する語

参考

参照

• Oxford Dictionaries [1]

アナグラム

• howdunit