• mysterious / intriguing (adj.)
• famous / well-known (adj.)
• vivid colours (exp.)
• piercing eyes (exp.)
• film adaptation (exp.)
• background / foreground (n.)
• detective /dɪˈtɛktɪv/ (n.)
• drawing / painting (n.)

1

Look at the

vocabulary boxes below.

a. Find a title for each box.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

b. Add the words from the toolbox into the vocabulary boxes.

c. Find a few more words for each category.

2

a. Look at the picture. Do you recognise the character?

b. What strikes you? What is the effect produced by this painting?

3

Group work

Read the brainstorming questions

and discuss them with your group. Do you read detective stories?

To be caught red-handed

To be caught red-handed

This idiom dates back to the 15th century in Scotland. It may be an allusion to people who were found with blood on their hands after committing a crime. The first document mentioning it is the Scottish Act of Parliament written in 1432.

• arrogant (adj.)
• clever / smart /ˈsmɑːt/ (adj.)
• eccentric (adj.)
• guilty ≠ innocent (adj.)
• wise (adj.)

• culprit /ˈkʌlprɪt/ (n.)
• murderer / assassin (n.)
• policeman / officer (n.)
• suspect (n.)
• witness (n.)
• robber / burglar (n.)
• criminal / delinquent (n.)

• deduce /dɪˈdjuːs/ (v.)
• investigate (v.)
• kill / assassinate / murder (v.)
• question / interview (v.)
• rob / steal (v.)
• solve a case (v.)
• testify (v.)
• witness (v.)

• blood /ˈblʌd/ (n.)
• blood stains (n.)
• crime scene (n.)
• fingerprints (n.)
• footprints (n.)
• piece /ˈpiːs/ of evidence (n.)
• clue / proof /ˈpruːf/ (n.)

• magnifying glass /ˈmægnɪfaɪɪŋ ˌglɑːs/ (n.)
• Inverness cape /ˈkɛɪp/ (n.)
• pipe /ˈpaɪp/ (n.)
• shadow (n.)
• deerstalker /ˈdɪəstɔːkə/ (hat) (n.)

• black and white (adj.)
• film (n.)
• poster (n.)
• series (n.)
• trailer (n.)