whodunit means A novel or drama concerning a crime (usually a murder) in which a detective follows clues to determine the perpetrator. It carries an Arena rating of 1505, earned across 10 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, whodunit ranks #157 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #327 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #2,051 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,374 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
whodunit is pronounced /ˌhuːˈdʌn.ɪt/.
Why “whodunit” is a great word
A narrative, typically a novel or drama concerning a crime, whose central pleasure lies in following clues to deduce the perpetrator. Coined in 1930 by critic Donald Gordon from the jocular alteration and univerbation of the phrase 'who done it?' (a non-standard form of 'who did it?'). Unlike a 'thriller,' which trades in visceral suspense and danger, or a 'police procedural,' which fixates on the granular, methodical reality of investigation, the whodunit is a pure intellectual puzzle, a game of logic for the armchair detective. It is the creak on the stair at midnight, the overlooked smudge of arsenic on the brandy glass, the locked library door with the key on the inside—all the scattered, tantalizing pieces of a human motive that, when finally assembled, click into place with the cold, satisfying logic of a solved equation, a fleeting, genteel promise that chaos can be contained by reason alone.
Etymology
Coined by critic Donald Gordon in 1930. An alteration and univerbation of who done it? with ellipsis of has.
noun
- A novel or drama concerning a crime (usually a murder) in which a detective follows clues to determine the perpetrator.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- howdunit 73% match — A type of detective story in which the focus is not on the person who committed the crime, but on the manner in which it was committed. vs whodunit →
- whydunit 70% match — A type of detective story in which the focus is not on the person who committed the crime, but on the motives for committing it. vs whodunit →
- wheredunit 67% match — A type of detective story in which significant focus is placed on the location in which the crime was committed. vs whodunit →
- howcatchem 65% match — A mystery novel or drama which begins by showing or describing the commission of the crime, generally revealing the perpetrator's identity to the audience, then shows or describes how the detective proves the perpetrator's guilt. vs whodunit →
- dramystery 61% match — A mystery-drama. vs whodunit →
- sleuthwork 52% match — detective work vs whodunit →
- dogtective 49% match — A detective who is a dog. vs whodunit →
- antidetective 49% match — Of or relating to a genre of detective fiction characterised by postmodernism and ambiguity. vs whodunit →