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Out of Sight

 Out of Sight
type
TVTItem
 Out of Sight
label
Out of Sight
 Out of Sight
page
OutOfSight
 Out of Sight
comment
The 12th story in the Black Widowers case files, Isaac Asimov wrote it for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (December 1973 issue), under the title "The Six Suspects".Trumbull is host, and his guest is Waldamar Long, an employee of NASA. Rather than meeting the characters as they enter the Milano, this story begins towards the end of the traditional dinner, in the middle of an argument about poetry.After dinner, Halsted anticipates the appointment of griller, with the request that Rubin not be the one designated. This conversation forestalls the actual declaration, and Rubin's analysis of the guest nearly ends the night early before he can explain himself. Once he does, however, Mr Long begins to explain his recent troubles.On a cruise ship, he was scheduled to give a talk about pie-in-the-sky projects in the space program, having been given special permission to share details. He got a call the night before the lecture to tell him the material was all classified. The frustration of losing that opportunity caused an outburst during that night's dinner. During the meal, several people had a chance to leave the table for long enough to break into his room and photograph the classified information. After the cruise, he reported the break-in to his superiors, and while the investigators found evidence that the information had been sold, none of the suspects seem to have done so. Henry helps Mr Long by pointing out one of the forgotten suspects.This story has been reprinted four times; Tales of the Black Widowers (1974), Ellery Queens Murdercade 23 Stories From Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine (1975), Top Crime The Authors Choice (1983), and The Best Mysteries Of Isaac Asimov (1986).
 Out of Sight
fetched
2018-08-11T08:24:45Z
 Out of Sight
parsed
2020-06-24T07:27:39Z
 Out of Sight
processingComment
Dropped link to SherlockHolmes: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Out of Sight
processingComment
Dropped link to TheIliad: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Out of Sight
processingComment
Dropped link to TheNamesake: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Out of Sight
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Out of Sight / int_101500e
type
Beneath Notice
 Out of Sight / int_101500e
comment
Beneath Notice: Mr Long knows that the person who photographed sensitive documents he was carrying had to have been one of the people at his table at dinner. The spy turns out to be the waiter, who he had completely forgotten about. Naturally, the club's waiter, Henry, is able to point this out.
 Out of Sight / int_101500e
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Out of Sight / int_101500e
 Out of Sight / int_1e1afc1b
type
Framing Device
 Out of Sight / int_1e1afc1b
comment
Framing Device: The dinner at the Milano serves to distill Mr Long's story for us and the members to solve his problem.
 Out of Sight / int_1e1afc1b
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Out of Sight / int_1e1afc1b
 Out of Sight / int_23c132d9
type
Beneath Suspicion
 Out of Sight / int_23c132d9
comment
During Mr Long's cruise, he got the bad news just before a fancy dinner where he and six others were being served. Mr Long incorrectly concludes that only those six could be suspected of stealing his information.
 Out of Sight / int_23c132d9
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Out of Sight / int_23c132d9
 Out of Sight / int_2534ee67
type
In Medias Res
 Out of Sight / int_2534ee67
comment
In Medias Res: Most Black Widowers stories begin at some point during the arrival of the members, creating a natural conversation starter. This story, however, begins in the middle of an argument and after the main course has been served.
 Out of Sight / int_2534ee67
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Out of Sight / int_2534ee67
 Out of Sight / int_3ec18c6f
type
Sherlock Scan
 Out of Sight / int_3ec18c6f
comment
Sherlock Scan: Rubin makes some sensitive deductions about Mr Long, angering him to the point where he is about to leave. Rubin then explains how he was able to identify those details. This is part of what convinces Mr Long to share his problem with the members.
 Out of Sight / int_3ec18c6f
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Out of Sight / int_3ec18c6f
 Out of Sight / int_55719ceb
type
Service Sector Stereotypes
 Out of Sight / int_55719ceb
comment
Service Sector Stereotypes: Since the majority of the staff on the cruise ship have trouble with English language, Mr Long assumed that the waiter who had served him didn't understand what he had said.
 Out of Sight / int_55719ceb
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Out of Sight / int_55719ceb
 Out of Sight / int_59ba7dfd
type
Punchline
 Out of Sight / int_59ba7dfd
comment
Punch Line: Halsted invents a limerick extemporaneously to demonstrate visual humour in poetic form. The punch line is provided by rhyming MS, IS, and LS (miss, is, and Liz).
 Out of Sight / int_59ba7dfd
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Out of Sight / int_59ba7dfd
 Out of Sight / int_5d7cfc66
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The Jeeves
 Out of Sight / int_5d7cfc66
comment
The Jeeves: Henry explains that an efficient waiter should be so good, they become invisible.
 Out of Sight / int_5d7cfc66
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Out of Sight / int_5d7cfc66
 Out of Sight / int_640a7996
type
Fancy Dinner
 Out of Sight / int_640a7996
comment
Fancy Dinner: The Black Widowers meet every month at the Milano, a fancy restaurant in New York City, but we've missed tonight's dinner, starting just before the blueberry shortcake is served for dessert. During Mr Long's cruise, he got the bad news just before a fancy dinner where he and six others were being served. Mr Long incorrectly concludes that only those six could be suspected of stealing his information.
 Out of Sight / int_640a7996
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Out of Sight / int_640a7996
 Out of Sight / int_8151ec48
type
Driving Question
 Out of Sight / int_8151ec48
comment
Driving Question: Who photographed the classified information?
 Out of Sight / int_8151ec48
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Out of Sight / int_8151ec48
 Out of Sight / int_959a9947
type
Phone-In Detective
 Out of Sight / int_959a9947
comment
Phone-In Detective: Henry is able to deduce the mystery of who stole the classified information by being a bit more sensitive to waiters than most people.
 Out of Sight / int_959a9947
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Out of Sight / int_959a9947
 Out of Sight / int_9ebca7d9
type
Mr. Smith
 Out of Sight / int_9ebca7d9
comment
Mr. Smith: Mr Long keeps the names of the six suspects anonymous, calling them Doctor (for the ship's medical doctor), Miss Robinson, Mr and Mrs Jones, and Mr and Mrs Smith.
 Out of Sight / int_9ebca7d9
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Out of Sight / int_9ebca7d9
 Out of Sight / int_a164f37d
type
Fair-Play Whodunnit
 Out of Sight / int_a164f37d
comment
Fairplay Whodunnit: The clues are all presented during the grilling, and the audience can deduce the likely culprit long before Henry interrupts with his hypothesis.
 Out of Sight / int_a164f37d
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Out of Sight / int_a164f37d
 Out of Sight / int_b09c818
type
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word
 Out of Sight / int_b09c818
comment
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Drake, on behalf of the members, asks Mr Long if he's about to be blackballed from the space program, and they're told that nobody is using that word to describe his career, but it does accurately describe the problem.
 Out of Sight / int_b09c818
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Out of Sight / int_b09c818
 Out of Sight / int_b53c57d5
type
Epigraph
 Out of Sight / int_b53c57d5
comment
Epigraph: The title "Out of Sight" refers to an idiom, "Out of sight, out of mind". The person who sold the classified secrets was the unobtrusive and nearly invisible waiting staff, who is overlooked in the investigation.
 Out of Sight / int_b53c57d5
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Out of Sight / int_b53c57d5
 Out of Sight / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Out of Sight / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: While explaining ASCII Art, Avalon cites "The Mouse's Tail" from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Trumbull accuses Halsted of trying to sneak in his The Iliad limerick without them noticing. Rubin paraphrases the famous phrase from Sherlock Holmes: "Elementary, my dear Dr. Long." Mr. Long mentions a dish of curried lamb being put under his nose during the incident. It is a possible allusion to curried mutton from "Silver Blaze", which was an important clue toward the incident being an Inside Job, just like this story..
 Out of Sight / int_c75df49a
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 Out of Sight / int_ce1d78bc
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Foreign Queasine
 Out of Sight / int_ce1d78bc
comment
Foreign Queasine: Mr Long says that curry dishes (a traditional Indonesian dish that has gotten plenty of appreciation in America) makes him nauseous.
 Out of Sight / int_ce1d78bc
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Out of Sight / int_ce1d78bc
 Out of Sight / int_cf57aca1
type
Orwellian Retcon
 Out of Sight / int_cf57aca1
comment
Orwellian Retcon: Dr Asimov didn't like the title that the magazine gave this story ("The Six Suspects"), so he changed it back when editing Tales of the Black Widowers.
 Out of Sight / int_cf57aca1
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Out of Sight / int_cf57aca1
 Out of Sight / int_d510ea37
type
ASCII Art
 Out of Sight / int_d510ea37
comment
While explaining ASCII Art, Avalon cites "The Mouse's Tail" from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
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 Out of Sight / int_name
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Out of Sight

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Out of Sight
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American Literature (# to D) / int_24a208a5
 Out of Sight
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Beneath Notice / int_24a208a5
 Out of Sight
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Fancy Dinner / int_24a208a5
 Out of Sight
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The Butler Did It / int_24a208a5