Sherlock Holmes Great War Parodies and Pastiches II
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[Back] Filed a nolle: Part of a legal term, the Latin phrase nolle prosequi, means “be unwilling to pursue.” In essence, it means “do not prosecute.” It is filed by the prosecutor in criminal cases before the trial to ask the court to discontinue charges, or during it before a verdict is rendered.
[Back] Dodgasted: A mild oath, although it still shocked Emily’s aunts when she used it against Lofty John in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s (1874-1942) Emily of the New Moon:
“Oh, Emily—that dreadful word you used!” Aunt Laura seemed curiously upset about something.
“Why, what’s the matter with dod-gasted?” said Emily, quite mystified. “Cousin Jimmy uses it often, when things vex him. He used it to-day—he said that dod-gasted heifer had broken out of the graveyard pasture again.”
“Emily,” said Aunt Elizabeth, with the air of one impaling herself on the easiest horn of a dilemma, “your Cousin Jimmy is a man—and men sometimes use expressions, in the heat of anger, that are not proper for little girls.”
“But what is the matter with dod-gasted?” persisted Emily. “It isn’t a swear word, is it? And if it isn’t, why can’t I use it?”
“It isn’t a—a ladylike word,” said Aunt Laura.
“Well, then, I won’t use it any more,” said Emily resignedly, “but Lofty John is dod-gasted.”
[Back] Ye gods and little fishes: “Ye gods” is an oath mild enough to avoid committing blasphemy. The “little fishes” addition is of unknown origin. Its earliest known appearance was in Charles Macklin’s (1699-1797) popular farce Love a la Mode (1759).
[Back] Turkish rocker: An overstuffed chair, typically made of leather, attached to a rocker base.
[Back] I’ll follow: From Ruth 1:16, in which Ruth expresses her loyalty to Naomi: “And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”
[Back] Food-Controller: As an island nation that needed to import much of its food, Britain was vulnerable to Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare during World War I. To help control fears of food hoarding and price gouging, a Food Controller was appointed in 1917 charged with fixing prices, regulating the distribution of food, and encouraging homeowners to reduce waste.
[Back] War Cabinet: With the onset of World War I, a coalition government was formed between the Conservative and Liberal parties.
[Back] Marquis: In the English peerage, duke is the highest rank, followed by marquess, earl, viscount, and baron/baroness.
[Back] Jaeger dressing-gown: Clothing consisting of animal fibers such as wool. Dr. Gustav Jaeger (1832-1917) theorized that humans would be healthier if they wore natural animal fibers next to the skin. This created a demand for wool-jersey long johns, which in England was fulfilled by “Dr. Jaeger’s Sanitary Woollen System Co. Ltd.,” founded in 1884 by businessman Lewis Tomalin, who acquired the rights from the doctor. Jaeger is still in business and known for its classic “twinset and pearls” image and natural-fiber clothing.
[Back] Three half-crowns: A “short-con” popular at race courses along with the three-card Monte game described below. From the back of his wagon, a hustler would attract a crowd by offering to sell a small leather purse at an distinctly low price. He would then sweeten the deal by placing a coin in the purse and sell both. The hustler would palm the coin and replace it with a brass slug. Amazingly, these purses sold well.
[Back] Which was the lady: Combs was playing three-card Monte, a guessing game in which the dealer displays three cards, one of them a queen, turns them over, rearranges them and invites bettors to guess where the queen was. In this scam, the dealer arranges with a confederate to lose a couple of games and clumsily shuffles the cards, leading the mark to believe that he can win.
[Back] The Styx: Probably a play on Light, a Spiritualist magazine that published Conan Doyle’s articles. The Styx is a river in Greek mythology that marks the boundary between Earth and the Underworld.
[Back] F.R.S.: Fellow of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge. What began in 1660 as a way for physicians and natural philosophers to meet and share knowledge grew to become a significant authority on scientific matters.
[Back] Boo to a goose: An idiom that implies that the person is shy. Given the geese’s reputation for viciousness, one wonders if this isn’t just good sense.
[Back] Relief of Lucknow: During the Indian rebellion of 1857, the British Residency compound, consisting of six buildings over 60 acres, was surrounded by mutineers. Inside were 855 British officers and soldiers, 712 Indians, 153 civilian volunteers, and 1,280 civilians. They successfully defended the Residency against 8,000 mutinous Indian soldiers for 87 days before a relief force arrived to resupply the defenders, and another 61 days before they could be evacuated by the British army.
[Back] Super-tax: Britain funded the war by raising tax rates across the board in 1914 and 1915 while imposing an additional “super tax” on those who earned more than £3,000. By the end of the war, taxes became more progressive, imposing a larger burden on higher earners.
[Back] Aspidistra: Unlikely, or extremely ludicrous, as an aspidistra is a house plant commonly found in English boarding houses and middle-class homes. Better known as the cast-iron plant, due to its ability to thrive despite neglect, it became so identified with English respectability that George Orwell (1903-1950) used it as a symbol in his novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying.
[Back] London rents: There had been a shortage of affordable housing before the war, which grew worse with a ban on construction imposed until after the Armistice. The extent of the problem was characterized by a cartoon in Punch which showed a couple on the street looking at a sign saying “This wall to let.” The husband says, “What about taking this? We could at least hang our pictures.”
[Back] There’s nae luck aboot the hoose: A midtempo Scottish country dance based on the poem by Jean Adam (1704-1765) about a sailor’s wife lamenting when her husband’s away at sea.
[Back] Sister: A senior nurse. The name survives from the early Christian era, when nuns took care of the sick and injured.
[Back] Defence Act: The Defence of the Realm Act (1914) gave the government wide-ranging powers, such as restricting pub hours and watering down drinks, forbidding the purchase of binoculars and starting bonfires, discussing military matters in public and imprisoning people for anti-war activities.
[Back] Reid’s: Reid’s was a popular stout brewed in London. Journalist Alfred Barnard (1837-1918) wrote in 1889, “Who has not heard of Reid’s stout? And what better accompaniment to a dozen of oysters could be found?” In 1898, it merged with London brewers Watney and Comb and was discontinued in 1961.
[Back] Whist drive: An event where up to a thousand people played the card game whist for prizes. Overseen by a master of ceremonies (M.C.), players paid a fee, commonly a shilling, to participate, and played 24 hands. The top players won prizes which, depending upon the event, could range from half a crown (two shillings and sixpence) to £20.
[Back] Simple Subtraction: British schools distinguished Simple Subtraction involving numbers expressed in the base-10 system from Compound Subtraction, such as those involving pounds, shillings and pence, which use different conversion rates.
[Back] Enteric bacilli: A microorganism found in the intestinal tract. Because enteric means intestinal, the notion of an enteric plea doesn’t make sense.
SHERLOCK HOLMES GREAT WAR PARODIES AND PASTICHES II: 1915-1919. Notes and essays copyright 2016 Bill Peschel. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of the notes or essays may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except in cases of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, email peschel@peschelpress.com or write to Peschel Press, P.O. Box 132, Hershey, PA 17033.
“The Adventure of the Lost Meat-Card” from The Complete Works of George Orwell by
George Orwell (Copyright © George Orwell, 1988) Reprinted by permission of Bill Hamilton as the Literary Executor of the Estate of the Late Sonia Brownell Orwell.
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