supersleuth
Exceptional crime solver
A supersleuth is an exceptionally skilled detective or investigator, whether professional or amateur.
The term combines *super* with *sleuth* (itself an old word for a tracking dog) to suggest someone with extraordinary abilities to solve mysteries or uncover hidden information.
It appears most often in lighthearted or admiring contexts: The journalist was a supersleuth when it came to digging up corporate scandals.
Supersleuth can also describe fictional detectives like Sherlock Holmes.
Hints toward answers
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- deductionConclusion from premises
- casefileCollected documents on matter
interrogation · analysis · testimony · witness · alibi · suspect · culprit · footprints
Iconic Victorian-era investigator
- HolmesFictional London investigator
- PoirotFictional Belgian detective
- SpadeFictional sleuth's surname
- gumshoeInformal term for detective
Columbo · investigator · inspector · operative · snoop · tracker · shadow · tail
Crime fiction identifying perpetrator
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- caseContainer or instance
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
riddle · secrets · thriller · suspense · intrigue · cryptic · cipher · code
Practically clever, perceptive
- astuteMentally sharp, discerning
- cleverShowing mental quickness
- sharpFine-edged, or astute
- wilySkilled at deception
crafty · calculating · ingenious · canny · scheming · artful · devious · sly
Quick to understand
- keenSharp or enthusiastic
- sharp-eyedHaving keen vision
- watchfulCarefully attentive, observant
- alertWarning or watchfulness
attentive · vigilant · scrutinizing · noticing · discerning · detail-oriented · eagle-eyed · mindful
Unproven inner sense
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
- premonitionAdvance sense of future events
- deductionConclusion from premises
inkling · foresight · perception · discernment · inspiration · read · sense · suspicion
clues
Hints toward answers
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- deductionConclusion from premises
casefile · interrogation · analysis · testimony · witness · alibi · suspect · culprit · footprints · fingerprints
Sherlock
Iconic Victorian-era investigator
Columbo · gumshoe · investigator · inspector · operative · snoop · tracker · shadow · tail · agent
whodunit
Crime fiction identifying perpetrator
conundrum · riddle · secrets · thriller · suspense · intrigue · cryptic · cipher · code · caper
shrewd
Practically clever, perceptive
wily · crafty · calculating · ingenious · canny · scheming · artful · devious · sly · foxy
perceptive
Quick to understand
- keenSharp or enthusiastic
- sharp-eyedHaving keen vision
- watchfulCarefully attentive, observant
alert · attentive · vigilant · scrutinizing · noticing · discerning · detail-oriented · eagle-eyed · mindful · aware
hunch
Unproven inner sense
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
- premonitionAdvance sense of future events
deduction · inkling · foresight · perception · discernment · inspiration · read · sense · suspicion · feeling
supersleuthbungler
Inept person
Inspector Clouseau · fumbler · amateur sleuth · blunderer · Barney Fife
supersleuthcriminal mastermind
Genius orchestrating illegal schemes
supervillain · Professor Moriarty · kingpin · perpetrator · culprit