Whodunit?

A Whodunit? (short for Who has done it?) is a complex murder mystery story, like the type Agatha Christie wrote. Murder mysteries are as popular today as they were in the past; people are just fascinated by crime, as proven by the popularity of TV programs like CSI (si-es-ai), Crime Scene Investigation.

In order to keep things interesting, twists and turns, or unexpected events, are introduced to avoid predictability. But it usually boils down, or reduces, to the same thing. The detective arrives at the crime scene and looks for clues[1], such as fingerprints[2], footprints[3], or hair or blood containing DNA (di-en-ei)[4]. Then the detective examines the evidence[5] and uses it as proof[6] to figure out[7] who the culprit[8] is.

Crime is very specialized. There are many ways of committing[9] crimes. They’re easy to confuse, so let’s take out the magnifying glass[10] and investigate the differences.


crime, criminal, action: definition

thief, theft, steal: take an object without the owner's permission.

robbery, robber, rob: steal from a person or place

burglary, burglar, burgle: rob a home

pick pocketing, pickpocket, pickpocket: rob pockets or bags

mugging, mugger, mug: rob a person by threatening with violence

kidnapping, kidnapper, kidnap: take a person against their will

trespassing, trespasser, trespass: enter a property without permission

swindle, swindler, swindle: trick someone to give you something

blackmail, blackmailer, blackmail: threaten a person to give you something

bribery, briber, bribe: give money in exchange for favors

Just remember that crime doesn’t pay, meaning that you’re highly likely to get caught and punished if you do something illegal. So if you can’t do the time[11], then don’t do the crime.

[1] pistas, [2] huella dactilar, [3] pisada, [4] ADN, [5] prueba, [6] comprobación, [7] descubrir, [8] culpable, [9] perpetrar, [10] lupa, [11] cumplir condena