Clue, Evidence, and a Smoking Gun
Sometimes deduction takes leaps of logic to come to a simple conclusion based on very minor details. Sometimes it's obvious. Sometimes however, the deductor uses his Bat Deduction skills to explain his conclusion, and then adds a Smoking Gun for good measure, making the previous deductions quite redundant.
Has some similarity with Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking but with weak arguments leading up to one strong one (and used as a deduction).
Comic Books
- In an issue of Young Justice, where a mysterious new girl helps the team out during a fight, then disappears. When trying to figure out who she is, this exchange occurs:
Robin: Her name's "Empress".
Superboy: Wha...? How'd you figure that one out?
Robin: It was through a series of clues and observations, with a few inferences thrown in for good measure. Oh, and there was also that... (points to the word "Empress" burned into the ground)
Literature
- In Quidditch Through the Ages, the fictional author describes the discovery of round metal balls believed to be bludgers, and not cannonballs, based on very subtle indents made by beaters' bats, the perfect symmetry only achievable by magic, and the fact that the balls started flying around trying to hit the discoverer when removed from their case.
Live Action TV
- Parodied on the 1960s spy spoof Get Smart, where Max would begin to list a series of utterly nonsensical clues to the solution of an obvious mystery, and 99 would supply the smoking gun...which Max would then hastily claim was the last clue in his list.
- In the season 2 Community episode ""Paradigms of Human Memory" (the non-recycling clip show), Abed deduces that Britta and Jeff are sleeping together from several subtle indications, and lastly: Abed saw them getting dressed together in a dormitory.
- In "The Great Game", the third episode of Sherlock, Holmes deduces that Molly's new boyfriend Jim is gay because of vague traces of make-up, subtle hints in his clothing, and him leaving his number with Sherlock.
- Surprisingly infrequent in Castle, where a complex series of deductions and circumstantial speculations lead to the killer. Since the police require proof beyond reasonable doubt, a last-minute smoking gun (or, sometimes, a cleverly extracted confession) is produced that seals the deal. But typically, solving the mystery points to an unexpected suspect or provides the clues necessary to establish probable cause so the police can get the evidence.
- In "A Deadly Game", Castle and Beckett get the victim's lover, a Long Island housewife, to confess that she was having an affair. However, while a dramatic scene, the confession is unnecessary: they already have both the murder weapon and physical evidence putting the killer at the scene of the crime.
- In "A Chill Runs Through Her Veins", Castle and Beckett identify the killer based on a chance conversation with a witness. They don't have any physical evidence or witnesses, so to close the case the authors nicely have the killer volunteer a hypothetical confession so the viewer can feel satisfied that C&B have their man.
- In "Famous Last Words", Castle must unravel the meaning of the lyrics for victim's final hit single to solve the murder. Only then can he and Beckett confront the killer and clear the name of the innocent suspect. Except... the key physical evidence was texts sent on the innocent suspect's phone, which were far more explicit about what actually happened than the song, and which the police were already going through. This evidence on its own identified and proved who the killer was, so the business the song was only important because Castle and Beckett hadn't read it yet.
Video Games
- In Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, Adventure Archeologist Beckett manages to pinpoint the local headquarters of a secret society of vampire hunters by examining the hue and texture of a pinch of beach sand, the distinct yet subtle aroma of a whiff of incense ...and the testimony of a vampire hunter dangled over a balcony by his ankle.
Western Animation
- Used in The Simpsons episode "Homer the Vigilante":
Abe: He was right under my nose the whole time. He lives in my retirement home. His name is Malloy.
Lisa: Wow! How'd you track him down, Grampa?
Abe: Good question! On one of my frequent trips to the ground, I noticed Malloy wore sneakers...for sneaking. My next clue came yesterday at the museum. We felt slighted by your age-bashing, and started home. Malloy said, "I'll catch up with you." [Malloy throws a grappling hook at the museum roof and starts climbing] I couldn't quite put my finger on it. There was something strange about the way he walked -- much more vertical than usual. And finally, Malloy, unlike most retired people, has the world's largest cubic zirconia on his coffee table.
Web Comics
- Used in Order of the Stick, in this strip when Dangerously Genre Savvy Tarquin explains the reasons why he is sure Nale is still present in the palace: because Nale is cautious planner and thus wouldn't leave the city without replacements for the men he lost, because Nale has a massive ego and thus wouldn't leave until he knew what Elan and Tarquin had to say about his stunt...and because Tarquin is wearing a ring of True Seeing and thus can see the invisible Nale standing right next to them. Cue massive Oh Crap.