watson

   A transferred name referring to Dr John H.Watson, friend to Sherlock Holmes, and recorder of the great detective’s adventures. ‘I have my methods, Watson,’ is spoken by a man in Len Deighton’s Funeral in Berlin, the speaker assuming the role of Holmes. The phrase is a near quotation of ‘You know my methods, Watson,’ which occurs in The Crooked Man, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

   More usually heard is the phrase ‘Elementary, my dear Watson,’ which Holmes is supposed to have said to his friend when the latter was congratulating him on solving yet another case. The nearest Arthur Conan Doyle came to writing those words was in The Dancing Men, where Watson cries ‘Excellent!’ Holmes simply says: ‘Elementary.’ Nevertheless, ‘Elementary, my dear Watson’ is likely to be used by any speaker who is being congratulated on his logical thinking or solving of a puzzle. The full phrase occurs in The Limits of Love, by Frederic Raphael. Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck, has: ‘Tell me, please, what made you think I was in the theater?’ ‘Very simple, Watson. First I saw your poodle, and then I observed your beard.’