The plow and The Three Garridebs (not by O'Casey)

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Fri Oct 24 03:26:04 UTC 2008


"Plow" is (was) spelled "plough" in England, so Sherlock knew the ad
was actually placed by the American villain, who has assumed the name
Garrideb in order to entice a real Garrideb away from his house.  The
American has presented the advertiser as a third Garrideb, needed in
order to inherit a magnificent legacy, and induced the real Garrideb
to go see him at Aston.

Joel

At 10/23/2008 09:16 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
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>What makes the clue crucial, Joel?
>
>-Wilson
>
>On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 9:15 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: Noah Webster at 250
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > At 10/22/2008 12:00 AM, Wilson Gray wrote:
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> >>
> >>Dennis Baron writes:
> >>
> >>"...plow, not plough ..."
> >>
> >>Back in the 'Forties, there was a soap-operatic, cartoon-serial
> >>entitled _The Gumps_. One day, the Gumps were expecting as dinner
> >>guest an English gentleman named "Plough." Confusion reigned as to how
> >>this name might be pronounced, so that introductions would not pose an
> >>embarrassing problem. Various solutions were proposed. I went with
> >>"Pluff," myself. It seemed obvious.
> >>
> >>When Mr. Plough arrived and was forced to explain to his American
> >>hosts that his name was pronounced "Plow," exactly as spelled,
> >>millions of Americans, including your humble correspondent, were taken
> >>completely by surprise. ...
> >
> > Earlier, there is the Sherlock Holmes tale where the crucial clue is
> > a plow -- in a newspaper advertisement purporting to come from a
> > constructor of agricultural equipment in Aston.  {"The Adventure of
> > the Three Garridebs")
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
>--
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-----
>-Mark Twain
>
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