Elementary, my dear Watson

Cultural  

1. A phrase often attributed to Sherlock Holmes, the English detective in the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes supposedly says this to his amazed companion, Dr. Watson, as he explains his reasoning in solving a crime. Though these precise words are never used in the Holmes stories, something like them appears in the story “The Crooked Man”: “‘Excellent!’ I [Watson] cried. ‘Elementary,’ said he.”

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Example Sentences

I refuse to invoke the phrase, "Elementary, my dear Watson," since it's one that's been famously misattributed to Holmes, though, in actuality, found nowhere in Doyle's pages.

From Salon

It’s elementary, my dear Watson: This, per Nunes, is a sprawling “hoax” engineered by disparate “elements of the FBI, the Department of Justice, and now the State Department” along with the “corrupt media” to work hand and glove to something, something “nude pictures.”

From Slate

It’s “Elementary,” my dear Watson, for a sixth season of this mystery drama starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu.

From Los Angeles Times

The detective drama “Elementary,” my dear Watson, hits the 100-episode mark.

From Los Angeles Times

In the original Sherlock Holmes stories Sherlock Holmes never says “Elementary, my dear Watson.”

From Literature