Dick Tracy
Wristwatch-radio lawman
Dick Tracy is a square-jawed comic strip detective created by Chester Gould in 1931, known for his yellow trench coat, fedora, and two-way wrist radio that anticipated modern smartwatches.
The character became an icon of law-and-order morality, fighting grotesque villains with names like Flattop and Pruneface.
Someone called a Dick Tracy is typically a would-be sleuth or someone playing detective: Look at Dick Tracy over here, solving the case of the missing lunch.
Private investigator
- gumshoeInformal term for detective
- investigatorOne who examines evidence
- cluesHints toward answers
- deductionConclusion from premises
whodunit · casebook · mystery · stakeout · surveillance · tail · undercover · interrogation
Bright-hued head covering
- syndicationMulti-outlet content distribution
- dailiesUnedited film prints
- Sunday funniesWeekend newspaper cartoon pages
- panelsFlat rectangular sections
speech balloons · story arc · serial · crimestoppers · rogues gallery · Flattop · crossover · graphic novel
Tough, cynical fiction style
- trenchcoatBelted, knee-length raincoat
- fedoraSoft creased felt hat
- femme fataleTreacherous enchantress
- shadowyObscured by darkness
gritty · black-and-white · cynical · alleyway · nightclub · smoky · underworld · corruption
sleuth
Private investigator
- gumshoeInformal term for detective
- investigatorOne who examines evidence
- cluesHints toward answers
deduction · whodunit · casebook · mystery · stakeout · surveillance · tail · undercover · interrogation · alibi
yellow hat
Bright-hued head covering
- syndicationMulti-outlet content distribution
- dailiesUnedited film prints
- Sunday funniesWeekend newspaper cartoon pages
panels · speech balloons · story arc · serial · crimestoppers · rogues gallery · Flattop · crossover · graphic novel · cartoonist
hardboiled
Tough, cynical fiction style
- trenchcoatBelted, knee-length raincoat
- fedoraSoft creased felt hat
- femme fataleTreacherous enchantress
shadowy · gritty · black-and-white · cynical · alleyway · nightclub · smoky · underworld · corruption · moral ambiguity
law enforcement
Upholding legal codes
patrol · raid · takedown · apprehension · squad car · badge · handcuffs · shootout · gangster · racketeer
- Comic CharactersSuperman, Batman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Captain America
- Detectivesdetective, sleuth, investigator, private eye, gumshoe
- 1930sNew Deal, Hitler, Nazi Germany, Great Depression, appeasement
- radio dramaradio play, radio serial, radio scripts, radio broadcast, radio mystery
- comic stripsPeanuts, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, Blondie, Doonesbury
- Crime TVCriminal Minds, Chicago PD, Hawaii Five-O, Columbo, Kojak
Dick TracyFlattop
Plateau-topped landmark name
Professor Moriarty · criminal mastermind · The Joker · Lex Luthor · mob boss