Hardboiled crime fiction is a uniquely American style pioneered by Dashiell Hammett, refined by Raymond Chandler, and endlessly imitated since by writers such as Mickey Spillane. Hardboiled fiction is most commonly associated with detective short stories and novels. It is distinguished by an unsentimental portrayal of crime, violence and sex.
The name comes from a colloquial phrase of understatement. For an egg, being hard-boiled is comparatively tough. It's not really very tough at all, but it amused people to refer to a tough guy as "hard-boiled". The other kind of detective, the "armchair detective" or someone who figures out crimes committed by proper ladies and gentlemen in "English country gardens" and who never has to worry about violence, systematic official deceit, having to tell lies to the police in return, or personal contact with the sordid side of crime, would be considered soft. A classic example might be Hercule Poirot.
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