hot trail
- warmModerately heated, or friendly
- pursuitAct of chasing something
- scentAirborne odor detected
- chaseRapid following of quarry
- trackingMonitoring location over time
fresh · lead · clue · blazing · hunting · bloodhound · detective · fugitive · evidence · manhunt · trace · following · hound · investigation · scorching · search · fleeing · footprints
recency/freshness of evidence
hot trailcold trail
investigative progress
hot traildead end
Passage without outlet
cold case · false lead · blind alley · wild goose chase · cold lead