whodunit

especially British, who·dun·nit

[hoo-duhn-it]

noun

Informal.

1. a narrative dealing with a murder or a series of murders and the detection of the criminal; detective story.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whodunit¹

1925–30; jocular formation from question Who done it?, for standard English Who did it?

Example Sentences

The “Knives Out” whodunits are about classic filmmaking delights: smart scripts, sharp jokes and big stars.

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Tom Nolan solves the mystery of what to give nearly any reader: new editions of classic whodunits and fresh cases to solve as well.

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Many Japanese crime writers have borrowed elements from the English whodunits of the 1920s and ’30s.

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Secret Service is among the agencies deployed to investigate the escalator whodunit.

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This year, she’s vying for lead actress in a comedy for her performance as an eccentric gumshoe on the Netflix whodunit “The Residence.”

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Related Words

• conundrum 
• enigma 
• problem 
• question 
• riddle 
• secrecy 
• subtlety 
• thriller