Elementary my dear Watson

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What's the meaning of the phrase 'Elementary my dear Watson'? The supposed explanation that Sherlock Holmes gave to his assistant, Dr. Watson, when explaining deductions he had made.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Elementary my dear Watson'?

In fact the line doesn't appear in the Conan Doyle books, only later in Sherlock Holmes' films.

One of the best known phrases that Sherlock Holmes never said.



He does come rather close at a few of points. Holmes says "Elementary" in 'The Crooked Man', and "It was very superficial, my dear Watson, I assure you" in 'The Cardboard Box'. He also says "Exactly, my dear Watson, in three different stories.

The phrase was first used by P. G. Wodehouse, in Psmith Journalist, 1915.