8 Ridiculously Inappropriate Phrases And Acts In Sherlock Holmes Stories

5. 'Tossing Them Off' €“ The Gloria Scott

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle rarely delves into the early years of Sherlock Holmes, and this phrase is found in the short story entitled The Gloria Scott. Watson meets Holmes when he has a successful practise and career, so to see where Holmes perfected his deductive reasoning is left as a mystery; a few references are made in passing comments throughout other books, yet there are few insights into Holmes' early life which go into as much detail as the Gloria Scott. To spare myself from divulging information that would spoil the fun it will suffice to say that this line is in regards to a celebratory round of brandy; drinking too much brandy and then 'tossing them off' sounds like a rather compromising situation to me, yet these words are used to reference the ecstatic emotions which overcame the participants. Regardless of how much context this line is placed in, it remains one which would be inappropriate to reproduce in a modern crime thriller due to the marked change in the connoted imagery of 'tossing them off.' Even the most mature of modern readers would be somewhat surprised and amused by the inclusion of this phrase in what is otherwise a solemn story with profound depth to the storyline.