Question 227
HardOriginal question“I see it, I it. How do I know that you have been getting yourself very wet lately, and that you have a most clumsy and careless servant girl?”
“My dear Holmes,” said I, “this is too much. You would certainly have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful mess, but as I have changed my clothes I can’t imagine how you deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is , and my wife has given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it out.”
He to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands together.
“It is itself,” said he; “my eyes tell me that on the inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it, the leather is by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it. Hence, you see, my double deduction that you had been out in weather, and that you had a particularly boot-slitting specimen of the London slavey.”
What does Watson mean by "You would certainly have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago"?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Watson says "this is too much" and cannot see how Holmes knows. Centuries ago, people thought to have magical powers were sometimes burned as witches.
It is a joking way of saying Holmes's deductions seem like magic.
Worth noting
Watson is amazed, not angry. The remark is a joke.
- Concept
- Understanding a historical allusion used as a joke
- Typical timeTypical
- 55 s
- Your timeYours
- —
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