PI

Private Investigator or private detective. 
==Hard Boiled==
A licensed gumshoe for hire. Celebrated in literature as being hard boiled and having a hot secretary, with which there is much sexual tension. He (nearly always a he) gets into constant scrapes of a life threatening nature, rescues hot women who fall all over him and is generally to poor to spit. Makes you wonder why he does it. Oh, right, hot women that fall all over him. Did I mention a strong sense of justice, and a soft spot he will deny exists?
Classics of the type would include Mike Hammer, Philip Marlowe, Michael Shayne, and Sam Spade among others.
==Not Hard Boiled==
Non-Hard Boiled types would be Hercule Poirot, Nero Wolfe, and of course Sherlock Holmes. Interesting the non hard boiled types seldom if ever have women falling all over them, hot secretaries, or are too poor to spit. (Wolfe is noted as being quite wealthy) But the cases are always interesting. 
==Reality==
The reality is, as usual, much less interesting. The average private investigator spends their days in a car eating fast food and watching boring people do boring things. Looking for cheating spouses, investigating alleged insurance fraud, and tracing down paper trials. Such fun!
See Mancuso Detective Agency, Hard boiled
Category:Lexicon
Category:Culture
Category:Crime