The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [472]
ci
Specialty.
cj
Small book of poems by Petrarch (1304-1374), Italian poet known for his sonnets.
ck
The reference is to a series of cheap popular novels with yellow covers.
cl
The reference is to Shakespeare’s As You Like It (act 2, scene 7, line 28; New York: Signet Classic, 1998): “And thereby hangs a tale.”
cm
English novelist (1828-1909).
cn
Raincoat.
co
We shall see (French).
cp
Holmes wrongly attributes this phrase to seventeenth-century English cleric Richar Baxter; it was actually coined by a sixteenth-century clergyman, John Bradford.
cq
William Clark Russell (1844-1911) wrote dozens of such stories.
cr
Baron Georges Léopold Cuvier (1769-1832), French naturalist, founder of comparative anatomy and paleontology.
cs
Division of Scotland Yard assigned to Whitechapel, site of Jack the Ripper’s crimes in 1888, the year after the one in which this story is set.
ct
It appeared in Confessions of an English Opium Eater, by Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859).
cu
As Watson’s first name is John and his middle initial H, one wonders why his wife refers to him as James.
cv
Small store that sold ready-made clothes to sailors.
cw
Cloud.
cx
Soft, muslin-like silk (French).
cy
Piece of light hand luggage, named after William Gladstone, prime minister of England four times between 1868 and 1894.
cz
Here, as everywhere else “the City” is capitalized, it refers not to London itself, but the financial district in the East End.
da
A carbuncle is a garnet, which is usually red; a blue one has never been found.
db
Felt hat with a low crown, similar to a derby.
dc
Tam-o’-shanter cap, which features a tight-fitting headband, a flat circular crown, and a central pompom.
dd
Scattered limbs (Latin).
de
Daily, printed on pink paper, that listed odds for sporting events.
df
Waterloo railway station, the largest in London.
dg
As baboons are native only to Africa and the Arabian peninsula, how this one got to India is anybody’s guess.
dh
Actually a Webley’s No. 2, .320 caliber pistol that used Eley bullets.
di
Reference to the Bible, Ecclesiastes 10:8, “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him” (KJV).
dj
Highly absorbent sedimentary clay used to remove oil and grease during the fulling process (the shrinking and thickening of woolen cloth).
dk
Customs official who waits for ships to come in on the tide.
dl
Description of the family’s coat of arms.
dm
Name of a dynasty of English kings, from Henry II (ruled 1154-1189) through Richard II (1377-1399). Conan Doyle’s mother, Mary, traced her descent from this family.
dn
Name of the royal family that ruled England from 1485 to 1603, including Henry VII (ruled 1485-1509), Henry VIII (1509-1547), and Elizabeth I (1558-1603).
do
Those shot by Cupid.
dp
Professional dancer (French); here, a chorus girl.
dq
A small covering worn over a shoe and extending from the ankle to the instep; a spat.
dr
From the Journal (1906) of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862).
ds
Conflict between France and Prussia, from 1870 through early 1871.
dt
Several Holmes scholars argue persuasively that this is Prince Albert, the queen’s consort.
du
Slang for “racetrack.”
dv
Coin worth a quarter penny (that is, a fourthing).
dw
Blackjack; short, thick, lead-loaded club.
dx
Literally, celebrated causes (French); issues arousing great public notice and debate.
dy
The title of Conan Doyle’s autobiographical novel was The Stark Munro Letters.
dz
Holding a gun or knife makes a pretty persuasive “metallic argument.”
ea
Standing place (Latin); one’s legal standing in a court case.
eb
Legendary British racehorse whose line continues today.
ec
Walking stick made from the stem of a dwarf palm.
ed
Type of matches, named after the Roman goddess of fire.
ee
Soft smoking tobacco packed into cakes.
ef
Source of the expression “The dog that didn’t bark.”
eg
Large, four-horse coach with seats inside and on top.
eh
A strange comment, since in that story (see p. 461),