• gedaliyah@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    44
    ·
    edit-2
    17 hours ago

    The most famous is “the butler did it,” which is a cliche with that apparently predates the reference.

    • tiramichu@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      edit-2
      10 hours ago

      This article in The Guardian suggests a story where the butler did it earlier than that - The Strange Case of Mr Challoner in 1921.

      Even so “the butler did it” is still a great example of a cliché that hardly ever actually happens.

      I could easily believe the cliché originated independently from any particular book, purely as a piece of writing advice meaning “don’t be obvious!”

    • gedfromgont@piefed.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      11 hours ago

      If you do a write-up like that you should probably include some information which works you are talking about.

      • Lumidaub@feddit.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        8 hours ago

        No need, I’d trust this account with my life. You don’t ask Prof Brian Cox for his sources, do you?