detective work
Solving crimes professionally
Detective work is the effort of investigating and uncovering facts, especially through careful observation and logical reasoning.
The term comes from police detectives but applies broadly to any methodical search for answers: It took some detective work to figure out who had been eating my lunch from the office fridge.
The phrase often carries a note of satisfaction at having pieced together clues.
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- hunchUnproven inner sense
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- smoking gunIrrefutable proof of wrongdoing
sleuthing · magnifying glass · surveillance · cold cases · clue · noir · undercover operation · deduction · interrogation · red herring · whodunit · gumshoe · alibi · autopsy · criminal profiling · stakeout · case files · evidence collection
- police workpatrol, arrests, arrest, stings, investigation
- investigatoryprobe, audit, search, inquiry, review
- sleuthingclues, evidence gathering, fingerprints, footprints, investigation
- problem-solvingproblem solving, puzzles, riddles, logic, solutions
- crime fictionmurder mystery, whodunit, crime novel, mystery novels, crime stories
- Criminal Investigationcrime scene, crime investigation, forensics, investigator, evidence collection
detective workguesswork
Conclusions drawn without proof
stab in the dark · conjecture · gut feeling · jumping to conclusions · idle speculation
detective workcover-up
Hiding wrongdoing from public
concealment · hiding evidence · obfuscation · stonewalling · evidence tampering
work, respect, suspect, detective, inspect, perspective, inspection, spectrum, detection