It's Elementary
I've been working my way through the collected works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It's been slow going. Over 2000 tiny-print pages of Sherlock Holmes. I enjoy it, but a little Sherlock goes a long way. I usually have to switch to a different book between each story. I've been reading it for over a year. In that year, I have learned the following incredible things:
- "Esquimau" = Eskimo. That one took me awhile, especially as the context didn't help.
- Sherlock Holmes never, ever utters the phrase, "It's elementary, my dear Watson." Not once. He often says, "It's simplicity itself." He did once say, "It's elementary," but never the whole phrase. Now there is a crushing blow from which I may never recover. I want my money back!
- I had no idea the following phrases were in common usage in the 1890s: "slut," "the old ball and chain," and "old man" (meaning "husband").
