Summertime Writing: Sherlock Holmes II

For this post, I want to take a few old Sherlock Holmes sentences from the final paragraph of the same story as last post and work with them through sentence, meaning, and word study. This material will be based on material 100 years old.

Source Material

This is the first paragraph in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Adventure I. Scandal in Bohemia

And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a woman's wit. He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honourable title of the woman.

First of all, like almost all of Sherlock Holmes, the POV is Dr. John H. Watson—the narrator.

1. Kernel Sentences

Next, I'll list the kernel sentences.

And that was how the scandal threatened Bohemia.

The best plans of Holmes were beaten by a woman's wit. 

He used to make merry over the cleverness of women.

I have not heard him do it of late.

When he speaks of Irene Adler it is always under the honourable title of the woman.

2. Word Dive

Then, I'll pick out certain words that I would like to look up and explore.
Definitions are from Webster's dictionary 1913 and  some words are from thesaurus is from Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms 1920.

scandal
\Scan"dal\, v. t. 

1. To treat opprobriously; to defame; to asperse; to traduce; to slander. 

[R.] I do fawn on men and hug them hard And after scandal them. --Shak. 

2. To scandalize; to offend. [Obs.] --Bp. Story. 

Syn: To defame; traduce; reproach; slander; calumniate; asperse; vilify; disgrace.

scandal: discredit.
discredit, v. i. 1. disparage, dishonor, disgrace, shame, scandalize, stigmatize, attaint, stain, defame (archaic), impeach, derogate (rare or obs.), depreciate, compromise, infamize (rare), blot, infame (archaic), dispraise (rare), disfame (rare), endamage (rare), degrade, smirch. Most of these synonyms have specific implications.
Antonyms: see confirm, honor, flatter.

affect

\Af*fect"\ ([a^]f*f[e^]kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Affected}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Affecting}.] [L. affectus, p. p. of afficere to affect by active agency; ad + facere to make: cf. F. affectere, L. affectare, freq. of afficere. See {Fact}.] 

1. To act upon; to produce an effect or change upon. 

As might affect the earth with cold heat. --Milton. 

The climate affected their health and spirits. --Macaulay. 

2. To influence or move, as the feelings or passions; to touch. 

A consideration of the rationale of our passions seems to me very necessary for all who would affect them upon solid and pure principles. --Burke.

 3. To love; to regard with affection. [Obs.] 

As for Queen Katharine, he rather respected than affected, rather honored than loved, her. --Fuller. 

4. To show a fondness for; to like to use or practice; to choose; hence, to frequent habitually. 

For he does neither affect company, nor is he fit for it, indeed. --Shak. 

Do not affect the society of your inferiors in rank, nor court that of the great. --Hazlitt. 

5. To dispose or incline. 

Men whom they thought best affected to religion and their country's liberty. --Milton. 

6. To aim at; to aspire; to covet. [Obs.] 

This proud man affects imperial sway. --Dryden. 

7. To tend to by affinity or disposition. 

The drops of every fluid affect a round figure. --Newton. 

8. To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume; as, to affect ignorance. 

Careless she is with artful care, Affecting to seem unaffected. --Congreve. 

Thou dost affect my manners. --Shak. 

9. To assign; to appoint. [R.] 

One of the domestics was affected to his special service. --Thackeray. 

Syn: To influence; operate; act on; concern; move; melt; soften; subdue; overcome; pretend; assume.

\Af*fect"\, n. [L. affectus.] Affection; inclination; passion; feeling; disposition. [Obs.] --Shak.

\Af*fect"\, n. (Psychotherapy) The emotional complex associated with an idea or mental state. In hysteria, the affect is sometimes entirely dissociated, sometimes transferred to another than the original idea. 

affect, V. t. touch, reach, take (with "disease," "blow," "fancy," etc., as the subject), seize (with "idea" or the like as the subject), hit (colloq.); spec, possess, attack, infect, smite, hurt, trouble, move, grip, concern, interest, pierce, perturb, impress, penetrate, strike, nip (rare); see INFLUENCE, TAINT, THRILL, AGITATE, EXCITE, IMPRESS.

kingdom
\King"dom\, n. [AS. cyningd?m. See 2d {King}, and -{dom}.] 

1. The rank, quality, state, or attributes of a king; royal authority; sovereign power; rule; dominion; monarchy. 

Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. --Ps. cxiv. 13. 

When Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself. --2 Chron. xxi. 4. 

2. The territory or country subject to a king or queen; the dominion of a monarch; the sphere in which one is king or has control. 

Unto the kingdom of perpetual night. --Shak. You're welcome, Most learned reverend sir, into our kingdom. --Shak.

kingdom: domain, group.
domain, n. 1. See estate, lordship, bound, control, sphere.
2. realm, reign (rare), dominion, bourn or bourne (rare or poetic), territory, possession; spec, kingdom, province, empire, empery (poetic or rhetorical), obedience, sultanate, khanate, daimiate, lordship, signory, dukedom, county, palatinate.

Bohemia
\Bo*he"mi*a\, n. 

1. A country of central Europe. 

2. Fig.: The region or community of social Bohemians. See {Bohemian}, n., 3. 

She knew every one who was any one in the land of Bohemia. --Compton Reade.

Bohemian

Of or pertaining to a social gypsy or ``Bohemian'' (see {Bohemian}, n., 3); vagabond; unconventional; free and easy. [Modern]

wit
\Wit\, v. t. & i. [inf. (To) {Wit}; pres. sing. {Wot}; pl. {Wite}; imp. {Wist(e)}; p. p. {Wist}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wit(t)ing}. See the Note below.] [OE. witen, pres. ich wot, wat, I know (wot), imp. wiste, AS. witan, pres. w[=a]t, imp. wiste, wisse; akin to OFries. wita, OS. witan, D. weten, G. wissen, OHG. wizzan, Icel. vita, Sw. veta, Dan. vide, Goth. witan to observe, wait I know, Russ. vidiete to see, L. videre, Gr. ?, Skr. vid to know, learn; cf. Skr. vid to find. ????. Cf. {History}, {Idea}, {Idol}, {-oid}, {Twit}, {Veda}, {Vision}, {Wise}, a. & n., {Wot}.] To know; to learn. ``I wot and wist alway.'' --Chaucer. 

Note: The present tense was inflected as follows; sing. 1st pers. wot; 2d pers. wost, or wot(t)est; 3d pers. wot, or wot(t)eth; pl. witen, or wite. The following variant forms also occur; pres. sing. 1st & 3d pers. wat, woot; pres. pl. wyten, or wyte, weete, wote, wot; imp. wuste (Southern dialect); p. pr. wotting. Later, other variant or corrupt forms are found, as, in Shakespeare, 3d pers. sing. pres. wots. 

Brethren, we do you to wit [make you to know] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. --2 Cor. viii. 1. 

Thou wost full little what thou meanest. --Chaucer. 

We witen not what thing we prayen here. --Chaucer. 

When that the sooth in wist. --Chaucer. 

Note: This verb is now used only in the infinitive, to wit, which is employed, especially in legal language, to call attention to a particular thing, or to a more particular specification of what has preceded, and is equivalent to namely, that is to say.

\Wit\, n. [AS. witt, wit; akin to OFries. wit, G. witz, OHG. wizz[=i], Icel. vit, Dan. vid, Sw. vett. [root]133. See {Wit}, v.] 

1. Mind; intellect; understanding; sense. 

Who knew the wit of the Lord? or who was his counselor? --Wyclif (Rom. xi. 34). 

A prince most prudent, of an excellent And unmatched wit and judgment. --Shak. 

Will puts in practice what wit deviseth. --Sir J. Davies. 

He wants not wit the dander to decline. --Dryden. 

2. A mental faculty, or power of the mind; -- used in this sense chiefly in the plural, and in certain phrases; as, to lose one's wits; at one's wits' end, and the like. 

``Men's wittes ben so dull.'' --Chaucer. 

I will stare him out of his wits. --Shak. 

3. Felicitous association of objects not usually connected, so as to produce a pleasant surprise; also. the power of readily combining objects in such a manner. The definition of wit is only this, that it is a propriety of thoughts and words; or, in other terms, thoughts and words elegantly adapted to the subject. --Dryden. Wit which discovers partial likeness hidden in general diversity. --Coleridge. Wit lying most in the assemblage of ideas, and putting those together with quickness and variety wherein can be found any resemblance or congruity, thereby to make up pleasant pictures in the fancy. --Locke. 4. A person of eminent sense or knowledge; a man of genius, fancy, or humor; one distinguished for bright or amusing sayings, for repartee, and the like. 

In Athens, where books and wits were ever busier than in any other part of Greece, I find but only two sorts of writings which the magistrate cared to take notice of; those either blasphemous and atheistical, or libelous. --Milton. 

Intemperate wits will spare neither friend nor foe. --L'Estrange. 

A wit herself, Amelia weds a wit. --Young. {The five wits}, the five senses; also, sometimes, the five qualities or faculties, common wit, imagination, fantasy, estimation, and memory. --Chaucer. 

Nares. But my five wits nor my five senses can Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee. --Shak. 

Syn: Ingenuity; humor; satire; sarcasm; irony; burlesque. Usage: {Wit}, {Humor}. 

Wit primarily meant mind; and now denotes the power of seizing on some thought or occurrence, and, by a sudden turn, presenting it under aspects wholly new and unexpected -- apparently natural and admissible, if not perfectly just, and bearing on the subject, or the parties concerned, with a laughable keenness and force. ``What I want,'' said a pompous orator, aiming at his antagonist, ``is common sense.'' ``Exactly!'' was the whispered reply. The pleasure we find in wit arises from the ingenuity of the turn, the sudden surprise it brings, and the patness of its application to the case, in the new and ludicrous relations thus flashed upon the view. Humor is a quality more congenial to the English mind than wit. It consists primarily in taking up the peculiarities of a humorist (or eccentric person) and drawing them out, as Addison did those of Sir Roger de Coverley, so that we enjoy a hearty, good-natured laugh at his unconscious manifestation of whims and oddities. From this original sense the term has been widened to embrace other sources of kindly mirth of the same general character. In a well-known caricature of English reserve, an Oxford student is represented as standing on the brink of a river, greatly agitated at the sight of a drowning man before him, and crying out, ``O that I had been introduced to this gentleman, that I might save his life! The, ``Silent Woman'' of Ben Jonson is one of the most humorous productions, in the original sense of the term, which we have in our language.

wit, n. 1. See intelligence, fun.
2. Referring to a wity person: spec, droll, bel-esprit (masc; French).

witty, a. clever (contextual), bright (contextual), funny (colloq.), sharp (contextual),
smart, sparkling.
Antonyms: see dull, stupid.

merry
\Mer"ry\, a. [Compar. {Merrier}; superl. {Merriest}.] [OE. merie, mirie, murie, merry, pleasant, AS. merge, myrige, pleasant; cf. murge, adv.; prob. akin to OHG. murg, short, Goth. gama['u]rgjan to shorten; cf. L. murcus a coward, who cuts off his thumb to escape military service; the Anglo-Saxon and English meanings coming from the idea of making the time seem short. Cf. {Mirth}.] 

1. Laughingly gay; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; jovial; inclined to laughter or play; sportive. 

They drank, and were merry with him. --Gen. xliii. 34. 

I am never merry when I hear sweet music. --Shak. 

2. Cheerful; joyous; not sad; happy. Is any merry ? let him sing psalms. --Jas. v. 13. 

3. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight; as, ? merry jest. 

``Merry wind and weather.'' --Spenser.

merry: gay, cheerful.

cleverness

\Clev"er\, a. [Origin uncertain. Cf. OE. cliver eager, AS. clyfer (in comp.) cloven; or clifer a claw, perh. connected with E. cleave to divide, split, the meaning of E. clever perh. coming from the idea of grasping, seizing (with the mind).] 

1. Possessing quickness of intellect, skill, dexterity, talent, or adroitness; expert. 

Though there were many clever men in England during the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were only two great creative minds. --Macaulay. 

Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever. --C. Kingsley. 

2. Showing skill or adroitness in the doer or former; as, a clever speech; a clever trick. --Byron. 

3. Having fitness, propriety, or suitableness. 

``T would sound more clever To me and to my heirs forever. --Swift. 

4. Well-shaped; handsome. 

``The girl was a tight, clever wench as any was.'' --Arbuthnot. 

5. Good-natured; obliging. [U. S.] 

Syn: See {Smart}.

clever, a. 1. smart (now chiefly U. S.), cute (colloq.), good, pretty {archaic or colloq.), solert (obs.); see ABLE, INTELLIGENT, READY, INGENIOUS, SKILLFUL.
Antonyms: see dull, stupid, unintelligent, unskillful.

refers
\Re*fer"\, v. i. 

1. To have recourse; to apply; to appeal; to betake one's self; as, to refer to a dictionary. 

In suits . . . it is to refer to some friend of trust. --Bacon. 

2. To have relation or reference; to relate; to point; as, the figure refers to a footnote. 

Of those places that refer to the shutting and opening the abyss, I take notice of that in Job. --Bp. Burnet. 

3. To carry the mind or thought; to direct attention; as, the preacher referred to the late election. 

4. To direct inquiry for information or a guarantees of any kind, as in respect to one's integrity, capacity, pecuniary ability, and the like; as, I referred to his employer for the truth of his story. 

Syn: To allude; advert; suggest; appeal.

refer, v. i. 1. See relate, appeal.
2. allude, advert, glance, touch, point, squint {colloq.).

honourable

\Hon"or*a*ble\, a. [F. honorable, L. honorabilis.] 

1. Worthy of honor; fit to be esteemed or regarded; estimable; illustrious. 

Thy name and honorable family. --Shak. 

2. High-minded; actuated by principles of honor, or a scrupulous regard to probity, rectitude, or reputation. 

3. Proceeding from an upright and laudable cause, or directed to a just and proper end; not base; irreproachable; fair; as, an honorable motive. 

Is this proceeding just and honorable? --Shak.

honorable, a. 1. good {contextual), worthy; spec, worshipful, admirable, famous, esteemed, respected, noble, elevated, reputable.
Antonyms: see discreditable.
2. See CONSCIENTIOUS, JUST, upright, virtuous, sincere, creditable, respectable.

Rewriting in my own way to interpret meaning

And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of Bohemia, and how one witty woman beat the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes. He used to make fun of the cleverness of women, but I haven't heard him do it lately. And when he speaks about Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honorable title of the woman.

Sentence Imitation

And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a woman's wit. 
And that was how a great plague threatened to affect the kingdom of Rohan, and how the brilliant strategy of Aragorn were beaten by a spider queen's poison.
And that was how the start of group menace caused great change in the future of local culture.
This is how the even a best friend's relationship may be overwhelmed by a deceptive enemy.

He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. 
She used to mock his situation, but I haven't heard her do it recently.
He used to argue over petty issues, but he hasn't clashed verbally with me as of late.

And when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honourable title of the woman.
And when she talks about Billy bob, it is always under the title of my man.

Analysis of Writing Exercises

This was more difficult that the last exercise, maybe because it was looking at the final paragraph of the story. I do see the sentence structure and word selection connection for the story Scandal in Bohemia between the opening paragraph and the closing paragraph.

“I confess that I have been as blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Summertime Writing: Sherlock Holmes

For this post, I want to take a few old Sherlock Holmes sentences and work with them through sentence, meaning, and word study. This material will be based on material 100 years old.

Source Material
This is the first paragraph in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Adventure I. Scandal in Bohemia

To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one in particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen; but, as a lover, he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer.

First of all, like almost all of Sherlock Holmes, the POV is Dr. John H. Watson—the narrator.

1. Kernel Sentences

Next, I'll list the kernel sentences.

She is the women.
I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
She eclipses her sex.
It wasn't that he felt love for Irene Adler.
All emotions were abhorrent to his mind.
He was the perfect reasoning and observing machine.
He would have placed himself in a false position.
He never spoke of the softer passion.
They were admirable things.

2. Word Dive

Then, I'll pick out certain words that I would like to look up and explore.

eclipse

\E*clipse"\, n. [F. ['e]clipse, L. eclipsis, fr. Gr. ?, prop., a forsaking, failing, fr. ? to leave out, forsake; ? out + ? to leave. See {Ex-}, and {Loan}.]

PIE - leikw; To leave.

Def. To obscure, darken, or extinguish the beauty, luster, honor, etc., of; to sully; to cloud; to throw into the shade by surpassing.
eclipse, n.: obscuration, darkness. [outshine].

eclipse, V. t: obscure, darken. 

predominate

\Pre*dom"i*nate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Predominated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Predominating}.] [Pref. pre- + dominate: cf. F. pr['e]dominer.] 

PIE - dem, House, household.

To be superior in number, strength, influence, or authority; to have controlling power or influence; to prevail; to rule; to have the mastery; as, love predominated in her heart.

\Pre*dom"i*nate\, v. t. To rule over; to overpower. [R.]

predominate, v. i.: control, pre-

predomination: control. 

sex

\Sex\, n. [L. sexus: cf. F. sexe.]
{The sex}, the female sex; women, in general.
sex, n. sexuality (rare), persuasion (jocular), gender (jocular).

seldom

\Sel"dom\, a.
Rare; infrequent. [Archaic.]
seldom: inf recently.

akin

\A*kin"\, a. [Pref. a- (for of) + kin.] 

1. Of the same kin; related by blood; -- used of persons; as, the two families are near akin. 

2. Allied by nature; partaking of the same properties; of the same kind. 

``A joy akin to rapture.'' --Cowper.

particularly

\Par*tic"u*lar*ly\, adv. 

1. In a particular manner; expressly; with a specific reference or interest; in particular; distinctly. 

2. In an especial manner; in a high degree; as, a particularly fortunate man; a particularly bad failure.

particular, a. 1. special, especial (equiv. of "special," but archaic in this sense), specific; spec, restricted; see definite.
Antonyms: see miscellaneous, general.

abhorrent

\Ab*hor"rent\, a. [L. abhorens, -rentis, p. pr. of abhorrere.] 

1. Abhorring; detesting; having or showing abhorrence; loathing; hence, strongly opposed to; as, abhorrent thoughts. 

The persons most abhorrent from blood and treason. --Burke. 

The arts of pleasure in despotic courts I spurn abhorrent. --Clover. 

2. Contrary or repugnant; discordant; inconsistent; -- followed by to. 

``Injudicious profanation, so abhorrent to our stricter principles.'' --Gibbon. 

3. Detestable. 

``Pride, abhorrent as it is.'' --I. Taylor.

admirably

\Ad"mi*ra*ble\, a. [L. admirabilis: cf. F. admirable.] 

1. Fitted to excite wonder; wonderful; marvelous. [Obs.]

gibe

\Gibe\, n. 

An expression of sarcastic scorn; a sarcastic jest; a scoff; a taunt; a sneer.

sneer

\Sneer\, n. 

1. The act of sneering. 

2. A smile, grin, or contortion of the face, indicative of contempt; an indirect expression or insinuation of contempt. 

''Who can refute a sneer?'' --Raley.

sneer: smile, laugh, jeer, snicker: laugh.

sneering: smiling, contemptuous.

Rewriting in my own way to interpret meaning

To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have rarely heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she diminishes and rules over other women. It wasn't that he felt any emotion similar to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one in particular, were strongly opposed to his cold, precise, but wonderfully balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen; but, as a lover, he would have placed himself in a situation where he might act against his own principles or interests. He never spoke of romance, save with a sarcastic scorn, taunt, jest, and a sneer. Love interests were admirable things for the observer.

Sentence Imitation

To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman.
To Frodo Baggins he is always the wizard.
To Harry Potter he is always the wizard.
To Harry Potter she is always the wizard.
To Robin Hood she is always the woman.
To Victor Frankenstein he is always the monster.

I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
I have seldom seen him look at her in any other way.
I have rarely seen him touch her in any other manner.
I have often heard her speak about him when she is in unpredictable moods—anger, jealousy, and even hatred.

In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
Under her watchful care, he eclipses and dominates all other men.
In her opinion in terms of writing ability, she is beyond and far superior to any other literature student.

It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. 
It wasn't that she felt emotion akin to disgust for Billy Bob.
It was not like he thought anything bad about Creed.

All emotions, and that one in particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind.
All opinions, and especially the ones coming from her, were unbelievable to his skeptical mind.

He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen; but, as a lover, he would have placed himself in a situation where he might act against his own principles or interests.
She was, in my view, the most beautiful woman that the world has ever seen; but, if he were her boyfriend, he would have placed him in a compromising love triangle situation.

He never spoke of romance, save with a sarcastic scorn, taunt, jest, and a sneer. 
She had never worked a job with him, save safely and distantly.

They were admirable things for the observer.
Smartphone are essential tools for millennials.

Analysis of Writing Exercises

This was a fun exercise which I'm taking away a few new writing tools and ideas inspired from one of the great 19th and 20th century writers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

“We balance probabilities and choose the most likely. It is the scientific use of the imagination.” — Sherlock Holmes