Dictionary

whodunit en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˌhuːˈdʌn.ɪt/ (UK, US)

Etymology

Coined by critic Donald Gordon in 1930. An alteration and univerbation of who done it? with ellipsis of has.

Meanings

1. A novel or drama concerning a crime (usually a murder) in which a detective follows clues to determine the perpetrator.
   • Actually, an whodunit is a mystery story. The hero is generally a detective, although sometimes he is a gentleman (apparently a mild mannered worm) who sallies forth at night to become Public Enemy No. One of Crime. Otherwise, the formula is exactly the same as that of the Cliff-hanger and follows the same rules. 1946, Josephina Niggli, Pointers on radio writing, Boston: The Writer, Inc., page 25:

Forms

Hypernyms

thriller

Relateds

wheredunit · police procedural · howdunit · whydunit

Synonyms

detective novel · mystery story · detective story

Translations (44)

pl kryminał (a crime novel or drama) · da kriminalfilm (a crime novel or drama) · hsb krimi (a crime novel or drama) · fr roman policier (a crime novel or drama) · ko 범죄물 (a crime novel or drama) · de Krimi (a crime novel or drama) · hu detektívregény (a crime novel or drama) · cmn 偵探小說 /侦探小说 (a crime novel or drama) · mk кримич (a crime novel or drama) · cmn 犯罪小說 /犯罪小说 (a crime novel or drama) · ko 추리소설 (a crime novel or drama) · es novela policial (a crime novel or drama) · ja クライム・ノベル (a crime novel or drama) · ru детекти́вный рома́н (a crime novel or drama) · pt romance criminal (a crime novel or drama) · ja 推理小説 (a crime novel or drama) · pl powieść detektywistyczna (a crime novel or drama) · ro roman polițist (a crime novel or drama) · tr polisiye (a crime novel or drama) · nb krim (a crime novel or drama) · ja 犯罪小説 (a crime novel or drama) · sv kriminalfilm (a crime novel or drama) · es novela policíaca (a crime novel or drama) · nb kriminal (a crime novel or drama) · nl detectiveverhaal (a crime novel or drama) · hu krimi (a crime novel or drama) · hsb kriminalka (a crime novel or drama) · sv kriminalroman (a crime novel or drama) · de Detektivroman (a crime novel or drama) · ru детекти́в (a crime novel or drama) · nb kriminalfilm (a crime novel or drama) · da kriminalroman (a crime novel or drama) · hu bűnügyi regény (a crime novel or drama) · it giallo (a crime novel or drama) · de Kriminalroman (a crime novel or drama) · sv deckare (a crime novel or drama) · cs detektivka (a crime novel or drama) · nl krimi (a crime novel or drama) · hsb kriminalny roman (a crime novel or drama) · pl powieść kryminalna (a crime novel or drama) · fi dekkari (a crime novel or drama) · da krimi (a crime novel or drama) · nb kriminalroman (a crime novel or drama) · fi salapoliisitarina (a crime novel or drama)