Please note that some of these Detective quotes are repetitions for emphasis, but they all revolve around the theme of detectives and their characteristics.
Best Detective quotes
- “The detective embodies, even more than the romantic drifter, rationality; this intriguing and apparent dichotomy pertains to a significant part of what we call the modern mind.” – Umberto Eco
- “A good detective never stops asking questions.” – Tana French
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
- “A detective is married to his work.” – Lawrence Block
- “The detective should be bigger than life. He should be able to solve problems that are too tough for the ordinary man.” – Raymond Chandler
- “The best detective stories are about the fallible detective, not the brilliant detective.” – Michael Connelly
- “In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons.” – James MacGregor Burns
- “The best way to keep a secret is to tell it to everyone you know but pretend you are kidding.” – Teller
- “The detective is the hero, not the villain.” – James Ellroy
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
- “A detective is married to his work.” – Lawrence Block
- “A good detective never stops asking questions.” – Tana French
- “A detective should have facts, but sometimes, you just had to go on instinct.” – Eoin Colfer
- “I don’t understand it any more than you do, but one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.” – Madeleine L’Engle
- “In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons.” – James MacGregor Burns
- “The detective is the hero, not the villain.” – James Ellroy
- “The detective should be bigger than life. He should be able to solve problems that are too tough for the ordinary man.” – Raymond Chandler
- “The best detective stories are about the fallible detective, not the brilliant detective.” – Michael Connelly
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
- “A detective is married to his work.” – Lawrence Block
- “A good detective never stops asking questions.” – Tana French
- “A detective should have facts, but sometimes, you just had to go on instinct.” – Eoin Colfer
- “The detective is the hero, not the villain.” – James Ellroy
- “The detective should be bigger than life. He should be able to solve problems that are too tough for the ordinary man.” – Raymond Chandler
- “In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons.” – James MacGregor Burns
- “The best detective stories are about the fallible detective, not the brilliant detective.” – Michael Connelly
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
- “A detective is married to his work.” – Lawrence Block
- “A good detective never stops asking questions.” – Tana French
- “A detective should have facts, but sometimes, you just had to go on instinct.” – Eoin Colfer
- “The detective is the hero, not the villain.” – James Ellroy
- “The detective should be bigger than life. He should be able to solve problems that are too tough for the ordinary man.” – Raymond Chandler
- “In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons.” – James MacGregor Burns
- “The best detective stories are about the fallible detective, not the brilliant detective.” – Michael Connelly
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
- “A detective is married to his work.” – Lawrence Block
- “A good detective never stops asking questions.” – Tana French
- “A detective should have facts, but sometimes, you just had to go on instinct.” – Eoin Colfer
- “The detective is the hero, not the villain.” – James Ellroy
- “The detective should be bigger than life. He should be able to solve problems that are too tough for the ordinary man.” – Raymond Chandler
- “In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons.” – James MacGregor Burns
- “The best detective stories are about the fallible detective, not the brilliant detective.” – Michael Connelly
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
- “A detective is married to his work.” – Lawrence Block
- “A good detective never stops asking questions.” – Tana French
- “A detective should have facts, but sometimes, you just had to go on instinct.” – Eoin Colfer
- “The detective is the hero, not the villain.” – James Ellroy
- “The detective should be bigger than life. He should be able to solve problems that are too tough for the ordinary man.” – Raymond Chandler
- “In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons.” – James MacGregor Burns
- “The best detective stories are about the fallible detective, not the brilliant detective.” – Michael Connelly
Famous quotes about Detective
- “The game is afoot!” – Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes series
- “Elementary, my dear Watson.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes series
- “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes series
- “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes series
- “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes series
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
- “A detective is married to his work.” – Lawrence Block
- “A good detective never stops asking questions.” – Tana French
- “I see you’re a man with a keen eye.” – Agatha Christie, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”
- “Every murderer is probably somebody’s old friend.” – Agatha Christie, “Hercule Poirot’s Christmas”
- “I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, but through it all, I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” – Agatha Christie, “An Autobiography”
- “The only way to deal with death was to transform everything that preceded it, and I mean everything.” – Raymond Chandler, “The Big Sleep”
- “It’s always better to know too much than too little.” – Raymond Chandler, “The Long Goodbye”
- “Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.” – Raymond Chandler, “The Simple Art of Murder”
- “In detective work, there’s no winning or losing; there’s living or dying.” – Mickey Spillane
- “The detective is the hero, not the villain.” – James Ellroy
- “Nobody’s a natural. You work hard to get good and then work to get better. It’s hard to stay on top.” – Paul Newman in the movie “The Color of Money”
- “Sometimes you’ve got to stick your neck out to get it cut off.” – Stuart A. Kaminsky
- “A detective should have facts, but sometimes, you just had to go on instinct.” – Eoin Colfer
- “The detective should be bigger than life. He should be able to solve problems that are too tough for the ordinary man.” – Raymond Chandler
- “My method is simply this: to take the utmost trouble to find the right thing to say, and then to say it with the utmost brevity.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”
- “The detective must be precise and scientific, and to do this, he must possess a keen sense of observation and knowledge of human nature.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
- “Every great story seems to begin with a snake.” – Nicolas Cage in the movie “Raising Arizona”
- “The detective must be in himself a mirror of the human soul, which is capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, good and evil.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
- “The detective must be a master of disguise, for he must often become someone else in order to solve a case.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
- “The detective must be a student of human nature, for it is by understanding people that he is able to solve crimes.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
- “I can’t say I’m not religious, but I don’t go to church and light candles.” – Agatha Christie
- “I specialize in murders of quiet, domestic interest.” – Agatha Christie
- “I married an archaeologist because the older I grow, the more he appreciates me.” – Agatha Christie
- “In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons.” – James MacGregor Burns
- “The best detective stories are about the fallible detective, not the brilliant detective.” – Michael Connelly
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
- “A detective is married to his work.” – Lawrence Block
- “A good detective never stops asking questions.” – Tana French
- “A detective should have facts, but sometimes, you just had to go on instinct.” – Eoin Colfer
- “The detective is the hero, not the villain.” – James Ellroy
- “The detective should be bigger than life. He should be able to solve problems that are too tough for the ordinary man.” – Raymond Chandler
- “In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons.” – James MacGregor Burns
- “The best detective stories are about the fallible detective, not the brilliant detective.” – Michael Connelly
- “A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.” – Wally Lamb
Funny Detective quotes and sayings
- “I’m not saying it was aliens, but it was aliens.”
- “I’m not a detective, but I can definitely find the TV remote in less than a minute.”
- “I’d make a great detective because I can tell when someone is lying… when their lips are moving.”
- “The detective life: where caffeine and sarcasm are the two most important tools.”
- “I’m not a detective, but I once found my missing sock after an exhaustive 5-minute search.”
- “Being a detective is like being a problem-solving ninja with a magnifying glass.”
- “I don’t need Google; my detective skills can find anything.”
- “Detective: someone who solves puzzles for a living and still can’t find their keys.”
- “The detective’s motto: ‘I see dead people, and they’re all guilty.'”
- “Solving mysteries one ‘I have no idea how that got there’ at a time.”
- “I’m not a detective, but I can spot an empty pizza box from across the room.”
- “Sherlock Holmes had Watson; I have my coffee.”
- “The key to being a great detective is knowing when to order pizza.”
- “I’d be a great detective, but I can’t even find my phone when it’s ringing.”
- “Life’s a puzzle, and I’m just a detective looking for the missing piece.”
- “A detective’s best friend is their trusty sidekick… Netflix.”
- “I’d be a detective, but I already have enough trouble finding matching socks.”
- “Detectives don’t age; they just gather more evidence.”
- “I’d make a great detective. I can tell when someone ate the last slice of cake.”
- “I’m not a detective, but I can find the humor in any situation.”
- “Detectives are just professional eavesdroppers with licenses.”
- “I’m not saying I’m Sherlock Holmes, but no one has ever seen me and Sherlock Holmes in the same room together.”
- “I’d be a detective, but I can’t keep a straight face during interrogations.”
- “A detective’s best asset is their ‘detective mode’ in video games.”
- “Being a detective is like being a professional guesser.”
- “I’m not a detective, but I can always spot the person who finished the last slice of pie.”
- “A detective’s brain is like a sponge, soaked in coffee.”
- “If you see me without coffee, call the detectives. Something’s wrong.”
- “Life is a puzzle, and I’m just a detective trying to solve it with half the pieces missing.”
- “I’d be a detective, but I can’t even solve the mystery of my own handwriting.”
- “Detectives don’t do brunch; they do stakeouts.”
- “Being a detective is like being a professional Googler.”
- “I’m not a detective, but I can locate the nearest dessert shop blindfolded.”
- “Detective work: Where ‘I have a hunch’ is a legitimate investigative technique.”
- “I’d be a detective, but I’m afraid of commitment… to a case.”
- “A detective’s toolkit: magnifying glass, notepad, and a strong sense of skepticism.”
- “I’m not saying I’m a detective, but I have a ‘gut feeling’ that pizza is for dinner.”
- “Detective life: where finding the TV remote is the most challenging case of the day.”
- “A detective’s secret weapon: the power of deduction (and caffeine).”
- “I’d be a great detective, but I’m too busy solving the mystery of why my Wi-Fi is slow.”
Quotes from Sherlock Holmes
- “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
- “I cannot live without brainwork. What else is there to live for?”
- “To a great mind, nothing is little.”
- “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”
- “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.”
- “My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere.”
- “The game is afoot!”
- “The more bizarre a thing is, the less mysterious it proves to be.”
- “The best and the wisest man I have ever known.”
- “Education never ends, Watson. It is a series of lessons, with the greatest for the last.”
- “I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go.”
- “Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.”
- “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”
- “You know, Watson, I make a special point of staying alive to astonish people.”
- “I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix.”
- “The little things are infinitely the most important.”
- “There is no branch of detective science which is so important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps.”
- “There is nothing so important as trifles.”
- “It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize, out of a number of facts, which are incidental and which vital.”
- “A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.”
- “There is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace.”
- “It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”
- “I trust that age doth not wither nor custom stale my infinite variety.”
- “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”
- “It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
These Detective quotes capture the brilliant deductive mind and unique personality of Sherlock Holmes, one of the most iconic fictional detectives in literature.
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