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An extract from 'The Adventure of the Wordy Companion: An A-Z guide to Sherlockian Phraseology' by Nicko Vaughan Here are just five of the 'G's referenced in Nicko's Wordy Companion: Garrulous - a person who talks excessively about nothing in particular, especially on trivial or unimportant matters. In The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist, this is used to describe the Landlord of the country pub where he goes to glean information. “I was in the bar, and a garrulous landlord was giving me all that I wanted.” Gadabout - a person who is constantly seeing pleasure. An insult thrown at Holmes...

An extract from 'The Adventure of the Wordy Companion: An A-Z guide to Sherlockian Phraseology' by Nicko Vaughan Here are just five of the 'F's referenced in Nicko's Wordy Companion: Forenoon - as the name suggests, something which precedes Afternoon and is really just another word for late morning. In The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist, this is the time of day when Miss Violet Smith rides her bike. “You must know that every Saturday forenoon I ride on my bicycle to Farnham Station in order to get the 12.22 to town.”     Fog-girt – girt means to be surrounded...

Unfiltered and unscripted we continue our look into the application of Sherlockian practices through Media and film/TV. You can learn how to become a deductionist from Ben's book 'The Monographs'. This week we look at Lee Child’s gift to us - Jack Reacher. To the well trained reasoner, nothing is small, just like paying for parking! Eliminating the impossible, you see but you do not observe, inductive reasoning, oceans razor is all present and accounted for as well as my personal favourite due to its relevance, emotional qualities being antagonistic to clear reasoning.  

An extract from 'The Adventure of the Wordy Companion: An A-Z guide to Sherlockian Phraseology' by Nicko Vaughan Here are just five of the 'E's referenced in Nicko's Wordy Companion: Ejaculate – Regardless of its modern meaning, the meaning of the word in the 1800s was shout out at something with shock or surprise. The word is peppered throughout the canon of stories but a few of my favourite examples are from The Sign of Four, “‘Thank God!’ I ejaculated from my very heart.”  The Adventure of the Abbey Grange, “Finally, he sprang down with an ejaculation of satisfaction.” And in...

An extract from 'The Adventure of the Wordy Companion: An A-Z guide to Sherlockian Phraseology' by Nicko Vaughan Here are just five of the 'D's referenced in Nicko's Wordy Companion: Decrepitude – something which is worn out and ruined, aged or elderly. In The Boscombe Valley Mystery it is used to describe murder suspect Mr John Turner “His slow, limping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and his enormous limbs showed that he was possessed of unusual strength of body and of character.” Danseuse – a term for a female ballet...