# Have you ever hired a Private Eye? What did you call them?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-hired-a-private-eye-what-did-you-call-them/790661>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 7, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-hired-a-private-eye-what-did-you-call-them/790661 "2017-07-07T01:00:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-hired-a-private-eye-what-did-you-call-them/790661/21 "2017-07-08T14:46:03Z")

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I would think “[Dick](http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/dick)” would be most appropriate, but I really like “Shamus”.

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-hired-a-private-eye-what-did-you-call-them/790661/22 "2017-07-08T16:50:54Z")

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> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> I would think “[Dick](http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/dick)” would be most appropriate, but I really like “Shamus”.

Yeah, I was sort of hoping a shady character in a trench coat and fedora would follow me around, so I could confront and contemptuously address him as “shamus” or “peeper”.

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