Sherlock Holmes Murder Most Foul (54 page)

[190]
Bon voyage = French for a courteous farewell

[191]
Churlish = rude, surly

[192]
Monomania = obsessively preoccupied with one thing

[193]
Hypothesis = supposition based on limited evidence, but which can be used as a starting point for further investigation

[194]
Blighters = troublesome people

[195]
All piss and wind = empty talk

[196]
Wouldn’t throw a plank to a drowning man = selfish, disinclined to help another person in need

[197]
Wouldn’t ’arm a fly = would not injure or offend anyone

[198]
Local nick = local police station

[199]
Tail between his legs = retreat quickly, through defeat or fear

[200]
Tosh = untrue

[201]
A little bird whispered in my ear = I was informed

[202]
Mad as a March hare = stark raving mad

[203]
Sharp as a needle = astute

[204]
Guinea = twenty-one shillings

[205]
Barney = noisy quarrel

[206]
Heathens = people who do not belong to any known religion

[207]
‘E were a sport = kind generous person

[208]
Tip = monetary reward for a service

[209]
One an’ six = one shilling and sixpence

[210]
Garden of Eden = according to the biblical account of the Creation, the place where Adam and Eve lived

[211]
Metaphorically speaking = symbolic of something

[212]
Vargulf = German for werewwolf

[213]
Alexandra, Princess of Wales = wife of Albert Edward, heir to the throne

[214]
Bluebottle = police constable

[215]
Gone and torn it = uttered in dismay when something said or done has created disorder

[216]
Ragamuffins = shoeless children in ragged, dirty cloths

[217]
Rained cats and dogs = heavy, continuous downpour of rain

[218]
Steal a nap = brief sleep

[219]
Buggers = term of contempt, referring to men

[220]
Whippersnapper = brash, inexperienced young man

Chapter 8: Harbinger of Death

[221]
Shacked up = reside with a person, usually of the opposite sex

[222]
Send ’er t’ sleep = kill her

[223]
Carved up = murdered and mutiliated with a knife

[224]
Bogies = police

[225]
Buggered off an’ left me = gone away, permanently

[226]
Pissin’ broken glass = searing pain during urination

[227]
Unt’ward = unexpected, inappropriate or inconvenient

[228]
Porkies = lies

[229]
Pushin’ up daisies = dead, buried

[230]
Spick-an’-span = exceedingly clean

[231]
Take yer fancy, do I? = do you like the way I look?

[232]
Bleeder = contemptuous individual

[233]
Nicked = stole

[234]
Worth a bob or two = shilling or two

[235]
Lor’ bless yer – thank you kindly

[236]
Dray = wagon

[237]
Yer’ve got a ’ead, lass = smart, intelligent

[238]
Breezin’ in = entering uninvited

[239]
Emerald Isle = Ireland

[240]
Chemise = female upper undergarment with short sleeves

[241]
Back scuttle = anal intercourse

[242]
Natter = gossip

[243]
Straight from the horse’s mouth = direct from the source

[244]
Blind Alley = apt to lead nowhere

[245]
Git ’itched, like = get married

[246]
I’d treat yer fair an’ square = good and proper, with respect

[247]
Mutton jeff = deaf

[248]
Funny = peculiar

[249]
Chiswick = west London district

[250]
Posh = upper class

[251]
Good riddance = pleased to be rid of a troublesome person

[252]
Tickled pink = very happy

[253]
Want t’ dip yer wick? = do you want to have sexual intercourse?

[254]
Stone the crows = incredulous exclamation

[255]
Shooting oneself in the foot = doing something stupid or making a silly mistake

[256]
Lavvy = toilet

[257]
Squirt = urinate

[258]
Plums = testicles

[259]
Thru’pence = three pennies

[260]
Dublin, city in Ireland

[261]
Lead in yer pencil = able to achieve an erection

[262]
Welch = inform on an individual

[263]
Nothin’ serious = do not deviate from the accepted norm

[264]
Someone just stepped on me grave = ominous feeling

[265]
Manhood = penis

[266]
Tumbled = stumbled upon whilst committing a crime

[267]
 

Chapter 9: Night of the Signs

‘Iding = beat a person incessantly

[268]
Ol’ cock = friendly form of address

[269]
Gladstone bag = hinged bag with two equal compatments, named after former Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone

[270]
Nth degree = utmost, extreme

[271]
Nasty piece of work = unpleasant person

[272]
Sniffing about = investigate stealthily

[273]
Fools errand = waste of time

[274]
In league with the devil = implying that a person has committed a crime in partnership with Satan

[275]
Strong stomach = not affected by queasiness

[276]
Collared = arrest

[277]
Gibberish = nonsense

[278]
Hit the nail on the head = to be exactly right about something

[279]
Feculent = excrement

[280]
Liverpool = situated in the north-west of England and situated along the eastern side of the Mersey estuary

[281]
Wild goose chase = fruitless pursuit

Chapter 10: Revelations

[282]
Too clever by half = outsmart oneself

[283]
Post-haste = hurry

[284]
Rule the roost = complete authority

[285]
Newgate Jail = just inside the city of London where death sentences are carried out

[286]
Stokin’ = sexual intercourse

[287]
Dropped a clanger = foolishly incriminate oneself

[288]
Judas = Judas Iscariot. Disciple of Christ who betrayed Him to the Romans

[289]
Dalston = district of east London

[290]
Kosher butcher = prepares meat according to the Jewish law

[291]
Will-o’-the-wisp = ghostly light seen at night over bogs, swamps and marshes, which continually recedes when approached

[292]
Chessington = located in the county of Surrey

[293]
Geezer = man

[294]
£4 6s = four pounds, six shillings

[295]
Pong = strong, unpleasant smell

[296]
Madagascar = island in the Indian Ocean off the south-east coast of Africa

[297]
No rest fer the wicked = very busy, no time to rest

[298]
In fer a penny, in fer a pound = perform a task until completed

[299]
Catch on quick, don’t yer = understand immediately

[300]
Shilling ’ead = fellatio

[301]
Oooh, lovely ’elmet = head of the penis

[302]
An’ no cheese = accumulated scum around the lower rim of the tip of the penis. Accrued by a constant lack of personal hygiene

[303]
Farthin’ = ¼ of a penny

[304]
Yakkin = incessant talk

[305]
I’ll cut yer fer this = cause injury with a knife

Chapter 11: Abyss

[306]
Clutching at straws = futile course of action to solve a problem

[307]
In a nutshell = brief summary

[308]
Achilles heel = vulnerable point

[309]
On the double = quickly

[310]
Lifted = stolen

[311]
Second nature = natural,normal

[312]
By fair means or foul = use whatever means necessary to achieve a result

[313]
Hound our quarry = pursue relentlessly

[314]
Hither and thither = muddled, disorganised

[315]
Miserable cow = contemptible woman

[316]
Coppers = pennies

[317]
Keep yer ’air on, will yer? = calm down

[318]
‘Igh an’ dry = stranded, alone without help

[319]
Earn a crust = just enough money to live on

[320]
Boracic = no money, skint

[321]
Tea leaf = thief

[322]
Sick t’ death = unwilling to tolerate a situation any longer

[323]
Eighty-six, eighty-seven = 1886 and 1887

[324]
Tash - moustache

[325]
Won me over = convince someone impressively

[326]
Two yards = six feet

[327]
Cosh = small bludgeoning lead weapon encsed in leather

[328]
’
And job = masturbation

[329]
Stroke = masturbate

Chapter 12: Charnel House

[330]
Tennyson, Lord Alfred = poet laureate to Queen Victoria

[331]
Chucked in the towel = admit defeat or failure

[332]
Yutz = Yiddish for fool

[333]
Bottle = courage

[334]
Means t’ an’ end = person or situation which is not considered important but is used nevertheless to achieve an aim

[335]
Dead giveaway = something uttered or done which betrays, reveals or exposes a fraudulent person or activity

[336]
Malice aforethought = kill or harm as planned

[337]
Put a spring in a man’s ’eel = make someone cheerful, happy

[338]
One born every minute = gullible, stupid

[339]
Prim an’ proper = strait-laced, prudish

[340]
Piss = urine

[341]
King’s Ransom = large treasure

[342]
Squirrel away = hoard

[343]
Safe haven = place free of danger

[344]
Blaggard = unprincipled, comtemptible man

[345]
From ill-gotten gains = acquired by illegal or unfair means

[346]
Bogey = policeman

[347]
Gay Paree = Paris, France

[348]
Oui = French for yes

[349]
Merci, monsieur = French for thank you, sir

[350]
Warms the cockles o’ yer heart = makes one happy

[351]
Stone’s throw = short distance

[352]
All square now = even. Settle a debt

[353]
I’m all ears = receptive to a proposal or scheme

[354]
Toff = member of the upper classes

[355]
Freeze the balls of a brass monkey = very cold weather

[356]
Stuck = burdened

[357]
Romford = located in the county of Essex, some twelve miles from Whitechapel

[358]
If the boot were on t’ other foot = if the situation was reversed and I had the advantage

[359]
Piece o’ brass = money

[360]
Bloody blue murder = make an outcry, scream until you are blue in the face

[361]
Astrakhan = fleece of the karakul lambs of central Asia