gumshoe
Slang for detective
A gumshoe is a detective, especially a private investigator.
The term comes from soft-soled rubber shoes that allowed quiet movement—ideal for tailing suspects without being heard.
The word evokes noir fiction and old Hollywood: The gumshoe lit a cigarette and watched the building from across the street.
As a verb, to gumshoe is to investigate or snoop around.
One who examines evidence
- shamusSlang term for sleuth
- dickVulgar anatomical slang
- peeperOne who looks slyly
- caseContainer or instance
client · retainer · skip-tracer · surveillance · stakeout · tail · shadowing · informant
Crime fiction identifying perpetrator
- clueSolving aid
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
intrigue · secrets · hidden · cryptic · twist · reveal · culprit · motive
Tough, cynical fiction style
- trenchcoatBelted, knee-length raincoat
- fedoraSoft creased felt hat
- smokyFilled with combustion haze
- shadowyObscured by darkness
whiskey · cigarette · alleyway · nightclub · jazz · prohibition · gangster · underworld
investigator
One who examines evidence
case · client · retainer · skip-tracer · surveillance · stakeout · tail · shadowing · informant · undercover
whodunit
Crime fiction identifying perpetrator
suspense · intrigue · secrets · hidden · cryptic · twist · reveal · culprit · motive · means
hardboiled
Tough, cynical fiction style
- trenchcoatBelted, knee-length raincoat
- fedoraSoft creased felt hat
- smokyFilled with combustion haze
shadowy · whiskey · cigarette · alleyway · nightclub · jazz · prohibition · gangster · underworld · blackmail
trail
Path through wilderness
- footprintsMarks left by walking
- traceMinute remnant or pursue
- followGo behind another
pursuit · chase · scent · tracks · signs · evidence · marks · breadcrumbs · path · spoor
galoshes
Waterproof shoe covers
- crime fictiondetective fiction, murder mystery, detective novels, detective novel, detective
- mysteryclue, detective, suspect, clues, whodunit
- mystery fictionwhodunit, whodunnit, murder mystery, detective novel, detective fiction
- Detectivesdetective, investigator, private eye, PI, shamus
- investigationinvestigation, detective, evidence, clue, case
- investigatorsdetective, investigator, inspector, police detective, homicide detective
gumshoepolice officer
Law enforcement agent
cop · FBI agent · sheriff · state trooper · constable