[420] Wot yer drivin’ at, Inspector? = what do you mean Inspector
[421] Peddling her wares = sexual service for money
[422] Benefit of the doubt – will not judge a person until the facts are known
[423] Ten yards = one yard equals three feet, ten yards is thirty feet
[424] Cock and Bull = nonsense, rubbish
[425] Ring true = be accepted as the truth
[426] Blade = knife
[427] Botany Bay = place in eastern Australia where the explorer, Captain James Cook first landed in 1770, now a British penal colony
[428] Robinson Crusoe = fictitious character who was stranded on a remote tropical island for twenty-eight years.
Chapter 16: Retribution
[429] Marston hearse = designed and built by John Marston & Co, Bradford Street, Birmingham
[430] Friesian horses = breed of horse, predominantly black in colour
[431] Westminster Abbey = where English Monarchs are crowned and buried
[432] Portland stone = importand limestone rock used for masonary and architecture, obtained from the Isle of Portland, Dorset
[433] I’ll ’ave his guts fer garters = severe punishment for a transgression
[434] Cornish granite = hard, tough stone from Cornwall
[435] ‘Oratio Nelson = Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson commanded the British fleet which defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, during which he was mortally wounded and died
[436] Quid pro quo = equal exchange
[437] Scare the livin’daylights out o’ me = extremely frightened or alarmed
[438] Prick my conscience = a sense of guilt
[439] Turn a blind eye = deliberately ignore a person, particularly if he or she is doing wrong
[440] Kali = Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy
[441] Thugee = Indian religious cult whose members engaged in the multiple murder and robbery of travellers
[442] Thurible = religious metal container in which incense is burned
[443] Chance would be a fine fing = something you would like to see happen is probably never going to happen
[444] I should bleedin’ coco = uttered sarcastically and means, I do not think so
Chapter 17: The Curtain Falls
[445] Hardly a feather in your cap = hardly a laudable success
[446] I will bite my tongue = remain silent
[447] Coutts & Co = bank
[448] Edgware Road = just around the corner from Praed Street, Paddington, London.
[449] Cuckolded = husband who is duped by his adulterous wife
[450] Bordeaux = city and region in the west of France, renowned for its wines
[451] Ferrule = protective metal cap fixed to the end of a walking stick
[452] Ode to Joy = latter part of the ninth symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
[453] Clarke’s Yard, Poplar = some two miles from Whitechapel and situated just off the south-side of Poplar High Street, between Simpson’s Row and Harrow Lane, near West India (import) Dock
[454] Bounder = derogatory term for person who is held in low esteem
[455] A new broom sweeps clean = newly appointed leader who brings fresh ideas and new personnel into an organisation or business
[456] Hold my tongue = remain silent
[457] Bit of a pickle = awkward situation
[458] Out in the cold = neglected, ignored or forgotten
[459] Pony and trap = a light two-wheeled vehicle pulled by a horse or pony
[460] Reading = some forty miles west of London
[461] Dropsy = swelling of the skin tissues caused by the accumulation of excess water in the body
[462] Yer kindness is sum enough = your kindness is payment enough
[463] Put two and two together = draw an accurate conclusion from existing evidence or an indication
[464] Far From the Madding Crowd = title of a book written by Dorset born novelist Thomas Hardy and published in 1874
Chapter 18: Abdication
[465] Cornish pasty = sealed pastry shell containing seasoned meat and vegetables, especially potatoes
[466] The die is cast = an irrevocable decision has been made
[467] Cox and Company = bank
[468] Kid gloves = made of fine kid (young goat) leather
[469] Waterloo station = railway terminus located near the southern bank of the River Thames. Originally known as Waterloo Bridge Station, it officially became Waterloo Station two years ago in 1886
Sherlock Holmes Murder Most Foul Page 46
