sleuth
noun / verb

- a person who investigates crimes; a detective

- carry out a careful investigation into a crime or mystery

Oxford Languages

—
SLEUTHING "SLEUTH"

The word "sleuth" meaning a detective or investigator comes from the Old Norse... follow the trail:

- Old Norse slaðr referred to a trail, scent, or track left by an animal or person.

- By the 1300s, Middle English borrowed the Old Norse term and transformed it into "sleuthhound", meaning a hound or dog that tracks by scent.

- The word “sleuth" emerged by the late 1500s as a shortened version of “sleuthhound", referring first to a bloodhound dog, and later to a person who investigates or does detective work by following clues or trails.

- In the 19th century, with the rise of detective fiction, "sleuth" became strongly associated with detective work and investigating crime... Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes becoming the most famous sleuth of all time.

- The verb "to sleuth", meaning to act as a detective or to investigate, appeared in the early 1900s.

The persistence of "sleuth" in English reflects the lasting cultural popularity of detective fiction and investigation.

—
CALL ME “LORD!”

In 1972, Michael Caine appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in the famous film “Sleuth”. Caine later confessed that, like many actors, the prospect of working with Olivier was frightening. Caine worried for weeks about how to address Olivier, whom he had never met.

"I can't call him Sir Laurence because he's Lord Olivier”, Caine recalled thinking. "Basically you're supposed to call him 'My Lord’, I suppose."

As Caine was mulling over the problem, a letter arrived from Olivier. "Dear Mr. Caine”, it said. "It suddenly occured to me that you might be wondering how to address me as I have a title; well, I think we should introduce us by our own titles which would be Mr. Caine and I would be Lord Olivier the first time we meet. Forever after that I hope it will be Larry and Michael”.

—
SYNONYMS

Ace, bloodhound, bulldog, clue-hunter, Columbo, cop, covert (operator), crime buster, CSI, decoder, detective, dick, Dick Tracy, examiner, follower of evidence, gumshoe, hound, inspector, Inspector gadget, inquirer, investigator, Keystone cops, law enforcement officer, Mastermind, Miss Marple, news hound, plainclothesman, Poirot, police, private investigator, private eye, inquiry agent, research specialist, scrutinizer, Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlockian, SLEUTH, sleuthhound, snooper, tracker, unriddler

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“The mystery thriller film SLEUTH is highly recommendable… I’ve watched it five times and never tire of seeing Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine in top form.”

—
Every month, we spend evening and weekend hours researching and writing your daily OWAD. It remains FREE, AD-free, and ALIVE thanks to voluntary donations from appreciative readers. If you aren’t already, please also consider supporting us - even the equivalent of a single cup of coffee a month will help us cover mailing, site hosting, and maintenance costs. Just head over to our secure DonorBox page:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-5-3

or bank transfer to Paul Smith
IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40
Please use your email-address as ‘Verwendungszweck’

Thanks so much,

Paul Smith
(OWAD-Founder)