mystery

/'mistəri/

Thân thiện

The detective solved the mystery by finding the missing key.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel, play, or movie: A genre of fiction where the plot revolves around solving a puzzle, typically a crime.
   • Something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained: An event, situation, or phenomenon that is difficult or impossible to understand, explain, or know about.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Story Genre):
  • She loves to read a good mystery before bed.
  • The film is a classic murder mystery set on a train.
• Noun (Unexplained Thing):
  • The disappearance of the ancient civilization remains a great mystery.
  • It's a mystery to me how he always arrives on time.

Advanced Usage

• "to be shrouded/veiled in mystery": to be completely unknown or not understood.
  • The origins of the artifact are shrouded in mystery.
• "to make a mystery of something": to treat something as if it is secret or puzzling when it is not.
  • There's no need to make a mystery of the schedule; it's posted online.

Variants and Related Words

• Mysterious (adj): difficult or impossible to understand, explain, or identify.
  • The lights in the old house had a mysterious glow.
• Mystify (verb): to utterly bewilder or perplex.
  • The magician's trick completely mystified the audience.

Synonyms

• Enigma: A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.
• Puzzle: Something that is difficult to understand or explain; a mystery.
• Conundrum: A confusing and difficult problem or question.

Related Phrases

• Mystery tour: A journey to an unspecified destination.
  • The school organized a mystery tour for the students.
• Mystery shopper: A person hired to anonymously visit and evaluate a business's services.
  • She works part-time as a mystery shopper for restaurants.

Related Idioms

• "It's no mystery": It is easy to understand or explain.
  • It's no mystery why she's tired; she has three young children.
• "A mystery wrapped in an enigma": Used to describe something extremely mysterious and difficult to comprehend. (A common variation of Winston Churchill's phrase).
  • The new CEO's plans for the company are a mystery wrapped in an enigma.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie
2. something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
   • how it got out is a mystery
   • it remains one of nature's secrets

Từ đồng nghĩa

• mystery story
• whodunit
• enigma
• secret
• closed book