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Here is a word from “The Mystery of the Taxi-Cab” found in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes. I have read this word before, but never looked it up to be certain what was meant by it.
Aberrations – a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically one that is unwelcome
Usage: “Accustomed as I was to the remarkable mental aberrations of my amazing friend, I could not help wondering at the methods he employed in this mysterious case.”
Here is an odd word that isn’t a huge part of my vocabulary. (Sorry, I don’t listen to music by Led Zeppelin.) So, when I found it in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes, I had to look it up.
Zeppelin – a rigid airship, cigar-shaped, and supported by internal gas cells
Here is an article in the Encyclopedia Brittanica. One of the most famous zeppelins was the Hindenburg. Apparently, there is a difference between a zeppelin and a blimp.
Usage: Herlock Sholmes has been approached by an artist who is describing his missing work of art. “I am the leader of the Neo-Sculptors, my methods are ultra-modern. I used a pick-axe for my work – the results are astonishing. This statue – this masterpiece – was a miracle of art. I intended, at first to call it ‘The Riven Oak’; later I thought that ‘The Fallen Zeppelin’ would be a better title; but I finally decide upon ‘Venus’.”
Sholmes nodded.
“I have seen your works, Mr Smudgett. If you refer to them as pictures, I should say you are undoubtedly the victim of hallucination.”
“You have seen them? Have you ever seen, Mr Sholmes, in any of my paintings anything that resembles anything in the earth, or the sky, or the waters under the earth?”
“Never!”
“Exactly!” Mr Smudgett wiped his heated brow. “It is to that, Mr Sholmes, that I owe my reputation. You are aware, of course, that I stand at the top of the tree – that I am universally acknowledged to be the chief of the Later-Super-Post-Impressionist School.”
“The Mystery of the Studio”, The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes, Charles Hamilton, circa 1920
Here is another fun word from The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes. “The Case of the Airman’s Medal” is solved and Sholmes and Jotson are returning to their rooms in Shaker Street. As Sholmes reiterates how he tracked down the missing medal, Jotson cries, “Marvelous!” Sholmes’ reply includes this word.
Illimitable – without limits or an end
Usage: “Not at all!” said Sholmes as we re-entered his room. “To a man of my illimitable deductive powers such work is child’s play!”
Here is an interesting word that I found In “The Case of the Airman’s Medal” from The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes. I should have known what it meant by the context, but I was completely puzzled ’til I looked it up.
Masticate – chew (food)
Usage: “You imagine I have bitten off more than I can conveniently masticate.”
An interesting side note: This is the only story listed for 1919 in The Complete Casebook. I wonder if Mr Hamilton took a break from writing about Sholmes just like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did with Holmes.
“I was busy that afternoon, having several operations to perform, and the subsequent death-certificates to sign.”
“A Murder Mystery”, The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes, Charles Hamilton, circa 1918
“An extraordinary case, Mr Sholmes,” said the inspector. “Mr Skinnem, the managing director of Messrs. Skull & Krossbones, the shipowners, was found dead in his private office. There was no sign of violence about the body, and death had apparently been instantaneous. The medical evidence is the Mr Skinnem had been the victim of a sudden shock – how administered, it is for the police to discover.”
“A Murder Mystery”, The complete Casebook of Herlock SHolmes, Charles Hamilton, circa 1918
I have heard this word before, and I find it fun to say. What a surprise to come across it in “The Lottery Ticket” in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes.
Perspicacity – the quality of having a ready insight to things, shrewdness
Usage: “After that amazing example of my friend’s perspicacity, nothing could shake my faith in him.”
Perhaps it is no big surprise after all that Jotson uses perspicacity to describe Sholmes. Maybe I should be more surprised that he didn’t use it ’til the last case in 1917.
I learned this obscure word this week when I was reading “The Lottery Ticket”, in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes.
Augured – to foretell, especially from omens
Usage: “I augured success from the playful manner in which he hooked his umbrella upon my left ear.”
FYI From Merriam-Webster dictionary: “Did you know? Auguring is what augurs did in ancient Rome. Augurs were official diviners whose function it was not to foretell the future, but to divine whether the gods approved of a proposed undertaking, such as a military move. They did so by various means, among them observing the behavior of birds and examining the entrails of sacrificed animals. Nowadays, the foretell sense of the verb is often used with an adverb, such as well. Augur comes from Latin and is related to the Latin verb augēre, meaning “to increase.”
This word comes up frequently in the wartime tales of Herlock Sholmes. The Red Tape Department is part of the Circumlocution Office in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes.
Circumlocution – the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in an attempt to be vague or evasive
Usage: The dictionary’s sample sentence is, “His admission came after years of circumlocution.”
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