elementary, my dear Watson

English

WOTD – 7 July 2025

Etymology

A statement apparently addressed by Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective and protagonist of many stories by the British author Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), to his friend Dr. John H. Watson. Although Holmes occasionally states that his conclusions are “elementary” and often addresses his friend as “my dear Watson”,^[1] the exact phrase does not appear in any of Doyle’s stories.^[2] The closest is the following passage from “The Crooked Man” (1893): “‘I have the advantage of knowing your habits, my dear Watson,’ said he [Holmes]. […] ‘Excellent,’ I [Watson] cried. ‘Elementary,’ said he.”^[3]

The phrase probably originated from the play Sherlock Holmes (1899) by the American actor and playwright William Gillette (1853–1937), based on Doyle’s stories, which featured the phrases “Elementary, my dear fellow” and “my dear Watson”. The play was revised many times, and thus it has been suggested that over the course of many performances “Elementary, my dear Watson” was also spoken.^[4] Subsequently, the phrase was probably popularized by its use in the series of 14 Sherlock Holmes films (1939–1946) starring the British actors Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson.^[5]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɛlɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi maɪ dɪə ˈwɒtsn̩/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɛləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi maɪ dɪɹ ˈwɑts(ə)n/
Audio (General American): (file)
Hyphenation: el‧e‧ment‧a‧ry, my dear Wat‧son

Phrase

elementary, my dear Watson

Used to emphasize that the speaker's deductive abilities are better than those of the listener.
- 1909 August 24, “Signaling to Mars. An elementary problem, says Professor [Edward Charles] Pickering, of Harvard.”, in The Times Dispatch, number 17,992, Richmond, Va.: [Times-Dispatch Pub. Co.], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6, column 7:
  The possibility of signaling to to the planet Mars is merely a question of elementary mathematics. […] It is such a simple little problem that any one should be able to take a pad and pencil and work it out in ten minutes. "Elementary, my dear Watson," as Sherlock Holmes was wont to say. "Elementary."
  Originally published in the Rochester Post-Express.
- 1909 October – 1910 February, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “In Pleasant Street”, in Psmith Journalist, London: A[dam] & C[harles] Black, […], published October 1923, →OCLC, page 140:
  "I fancy," said Psmith, "that this is one of those moments when it is necessary for me to unlimber my Sherlock Holmes system. […] Do you follow me, Comrade Maloney?" / "That's right," said Billy Windsor. "Of course." / "Elementary, my dear Watson, elementary," murmured Psmith.
- 1922 January, Agatha Christie, “Annette”, in The Secret Adversary, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1922, →OCLC, page 191:
  What have we for lunch? Stew? How did I know? Elementary, my dear Watson—the smell of onions is unmistakable.
- 1995 June 30, Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos [pseudonym; Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente], “Subcomandante Marcos: 1994–1996 – Spreading the Word [The Tale of Durito’s Return]”, in [anonymous], transl., edited by Žiga Vodovnik, ¡Ya Basta! Ten Years of the Zapatista Uprising: Writings of Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, Oakland, Calif.; Edinburgh: AK Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 175:
  Elementary, my dear Watson! There's an invisible element in the cabinet, a character that, without making itself known, gives coherence to and makes systemic all the braying of the government team. A boss to whose command everyone submits.
- 2012, Ethan Cross, chapter 37, in The Shepherd, London: Arrow Books, Random House, →ISBN, part 3 (The Rod and the Staff), page 201:
  "Seems like you've got it all figured out, but if I was FBI, why would I go in alone and risk my life to save you? Why wouldn't I call in the troops and end this once and for all?" / "Elementary, my dear Watson. You don't know who to trust either. You're in the same position as me. […]"

Translations

used to emphasize that the speaker’s deductive abilities are better than those of the listener

Danish: elementært, min kære Watson
Finnish: yksinkertaista, rakas Watson
French: please add this translation if you can
Georgian: ელემენტარულია, უოტსონ (elemenṭarulia, uoṭson), ეს ხომ ელემენტარულია, უოტსონ (es xom elemenṭarulia, uoṭson), ელემენტარულია, ძვირფასო უოტსონ (elemenṭarulia, ʒvirpaso uoṭson), ეს ხომ ელემენტარულია, ძვირფასო უოტსონ (es xom elemenṭarulia, ʒvirpaso uoṭson)
Italian: elementare, Watson
Portuguese: elementar, meu caro Watson
Russian: элементарно, Ватсон (elementarno, Vatson)
Swedish: elementärt, min käre Watson

References

^ Mattias Boström (2017) chapter 40, in From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women who Created an Icon […], New York, N.Y.: Mysterious Press, →ISBN, page 182.
^ Elizabeth Knowles, editor (2000), “Elementary, my dear Watson”, in The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 329, column 2.
^ A[rthur] Conan Doyle (1893 (indicated as 1894)) “The Crooked Man”, in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, London: George Newnes, […], →OCLC, page 147.
^ Boström, page 183.
^ Matthew E. Bunson (1994) “‘Elementary, My Dear Watson’”, in Encyclopedia Sherlockiana: An A-to-Z Guide to the World of the Great Detective, New York, N.Y.: Macmillan, →ISBN, page 73.