7.4 Words and Phrases

Vocabulary

Word Meaning Example sentence
detective a person who investigates crimes The young detective studied every clue.
convict a person found guilty of a crime The ex-convict had once been in prison.
clue a piece of evidence that helps solve a mystery The strange word was the vital clue.
decipher to work out the meaning of something coded He managed to decipher the hidden message.
will (noun) a legal document of one’s last wishes Nolan left a message in his will.
stroke a sudden illness affecting the brain Nolan died of a stroke.
nursery a place where young plants are grown The jewels were hidden in his plant nursery.
suspect a person thought to be guilty The police had one main suspect.
pattern a regular, repeated arrangement He spotted the pattern in the words.
robbery the crime of stealing The robbery had taken place five years ago.
reasoning logical thinking to reach a conclusion His sharp reasoning solved the case.
recover to get back something lost or stolen The police recovered the jewels.

Phrases and expressions

Expression What it means
crack the case to solve a mystery
figure out to work out; to understand after thinking
point to to indicate; to suggest as the answer
jump to conclusions to decide too quickly without enough proof
dig up to uncover (literally or by investigation)

Exam Tip This chapter uses many detective and crime words (clue, suspect, convict, decipher). Group such theme-words while revising. Also note that some everyday words have special meanings here: a will is a legal document, and a stroke is a sudden illness.

Use what you’ve learnt

Fill each blank: clue, decipher, suspect, pattern, nursery.

  1. The strange word was the only ___ they had.
  2. Encyclopedia could ___ the secret message easily.
  3. The police had just one ___ in the robbery.
  4. He noticed a clear ___ in the four words.
  5. The jewels lay buried in Nolan’s plant ___.
  1. clue   2. decipher   3. suspect   4. pattern   5. nursery