Ripperologistn.
/ˌrɪpəˈrɒlədʒɪst/, U.S. /ˌrɪpəˈrɑlədʒəst/ An expert on or student of Ripperology (Ripperology n.), esp. one who seeks to uncover the identity of the murderer.
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1975 D. Rumbelow Compl. Jack the Ripper 5 To..‘Ripperologists’ everywhere—not forgetting Jack who brought us all together.
1979 W. J. Fishman Streets of E. London 102/2 It is still debated whether Turner was the first victim [of Jack the Ripper]. Some ‘Ripperologists’ suggest that Polly Nichols was the first.
1987 Times 2 Oct. 21/1 Ripperologists..are as uniform in making deductions from no evidence as they are in their loyalty to the tested three-part formula for Ripper books.
1993 Guardian 9 Sept. i. 1/6 Ripperologists in Britain say evidence at Mrs Maybrick's trial suggested her husband was in Liverpool throughout the period of the killings.
2002 Independent 30 Jan. (Wednesday Review section) 1/4 Although Cornwell's book on the subject hasn't yet been published, what she has so far said in public is characteristic of the Ripperologists—full of mazy logic and strained coincidences.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1975