METAPHORICAL PHRASEOLOGY IN MYSTERY GENRE: HIDDEN MEANINGS AND IMPLICIT CLUES

The mystery genre masterfully employs metaphorical phraseology—encompassing metaphors, similes, puns, wordplay, symbolism, and ambiguous idioms—to conceal clues while building suspense and atmosphere. These linguistic devices serve as implicit hints, red herrings, and tools for misdirection, allowing authors to adhere to "fair play" rules while challenging readers to uncover layered meanings. This article explores classic examples from Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, incorporates insights from modern scholarship on linguistic misdirection, forensic linguistics, stylistic concealment, and metaphysical detective fiction, and examines how figurative language transforms narrative into an epistemological puzzle. Through close textual analysis and a dedicated literature review, the discussion reveals how metaphors encode the mechanics of crime and detection, often subverting expectations in both traditional and postmodern variants.