A guide to help you understand the words of London, England in 1900.
alias - fake name
capital! - excellent!
crux - the center of a problem; the hardest part of a problem
deduce - to use reason/logic to come to a conclusion
disjecta membra - scattered fragments; torn limbs
draught - a sleeping draught is any drink containing a drug that causes sleep
ennui - boredom to the point where you feel frustrated
escusez moi - French for “excuse me”
finances - money
governess - a teacher hired by wealthy people to teach their children in the home
hoax - fraud; lie
humdrum - boring
inheritance - the money or items you leave someone upon your death
mastiff - a big dog
matrimony - marriage
Nova Scotia - a province of Canada
pawn shop - a store that buys used items then sells them
pawnbroker - someone who owns a pawn shop
perchance - perhaps; possibly
persist - to keep doing something in spite of the obstacles in your path
pound - British money; worth about a dollar
pray - please; request; hope
procure - get
prove no match - If one person or thing is no match for another, they are unable to compete successfully with the other person or thing.
recompense - payment
Scotland Yard - the police headquarters of the city of London
Sherlock - “Sherlock” was not a first name in 1900 but a last name. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle turned Sherlock into a first name for Holmes. Doyle might have combined the names of 2 cricket players to form the name: Sherwin and Shacklock.
shillings - British money; equivalent of about a dime
shorn - past tense of “shear,” which means to cut the wool off an animal
sovereign - British gold coin; worth about a dollar
ulterior - hidden
vacancy - empty spot
