Once Holmes was visited by the person with a request for help. He was in a worn suit, a shirt with shabby cuffs and an old top head on his head. Holmes refused to help him. When the man left, disappointed Watson jumped on his friend:
- Sherlock, you are a great detective. How could you refuse to help the poor man?
- My dear friend, he was not absolutely poor. It his purse there was 115 pounds and 25 pence.
- But how do you know ?
- It is elementary, Buddy. Let’s count it together.
- v. duff up slang beat; thrash. [perhaps from *duffer]
DUKE
n. - person holding the highest hereditary title of the nobility.
- sovereign prince ruling a duchy or small state. dukedom n. [latin dux leader]
DULL
—adj. - tedious; not interesting.
- (of the weather) overcast.
- (of colour, light, sound, etc.) Not bright, vivid, or clear.
- (of a pain) indistinct; not acute (a dull ache).
- slow-witted; stupid.
- (of a knife-edge etc.) Blunt.
- a (of trade etc.) Sluggish, slow. B listless; depressed.
- (of the ears, eyes, etc.) Lacking keenness. —v. Make or become dull. dullness n. Dully adv. [low german or dutch]
DULY
adv. - in due time or manner.
- rightly, properly.
DUMB
adj. - a unable to speak. B (of an animal) naturally dumb.
- silenced by surprise, shyness, etc.
- taciturn, reticent (dumb insolence).
- suffered or done in silence (dumb agony).
- colloq. Stupid; ignorant.
- disenfranchised; inarticulate (dumb masses).
- (of a computer terminal etc.) Able to transmit or receive but unable to process data.
- giving no sound. [old english]
- show n. Gestures; mime.
- waiter n. Small hand-operated lift for conveying food from kitchen to dining-room.
DUMP
truck n. Truck that tilts or opens at the back for unloading.
- —n. - place or heap for depositing rubbish.
- colloq. Unpleasant or dreary place.
- temporary store of ammunition etc. —v. - put down firmly or clumsily.
- deposit as rubbish.
- colloq. Abandon or get rid of.
- sell (excess goods) to a foreign market at a low price.
- copy (the contents of a computer memory etc.) As a diagnostic aid or for security. dump on esp. Us criticize or abuse; get the better of. [origin uncertain]
DUNE
n. Drift of sand etc. Formed by the wind. [dutch: related to *down3]
