Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

elementary, my dear watson

/ˌɛləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi maɪ dɪɹ ˈwɑts(ə)n/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.89 in modern English

Syllables
el-e-ment-a-ry, my dear Wat-son
IPA
/ˌɛləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi maɪ dɪɹ ˈwɑts(ə)n/
36
Scrabble Score
22
Letters
6
Syllables
12
Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Used to emphasize that the speaker's deductive abilities are better than those of the listener.

Example Sentences

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”, the exact phrase does not appear in any of Doyle’s stories. 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.” 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. 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.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌɛləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi maɪ dɪɹ ˈwɑts(ə)n/
  • British English: /ˌɛlɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi maɪ dɪə ˈwɒtsn̩/

Questions

How do you pronounce elementary, my dear watson?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌɛləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi maɪ dɪɹ ˈwɑts(ə)n/.
What does elementary, my dear watson mean?
Used to emphasize that the speaker's deductive abilities are better than those of the listener.
Where does elementary, my dear watson come from?
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”, the exact phrase does not appear in any of Doyle’s stories. 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.” 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. 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.

How to pronounce elementary, my dear watson

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “elementary, my dear watson”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌɛləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi maɪ dɪɹ ˈwɑts(ə)n/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “elementary, my dear watson”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “elementary, my dear watson” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.