Holmes, Sher ‧ lock /həʊmz, ˈʃɜːlɒk $ ˈʃɜːrlɑːk/ BrE AmE
the main character in the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He is very clever and he always notices very small details and then uses them to guess what has happened. He is known for wearing a ↑ deerstalker (=a type of hat) , smoking a ↑ pipe , and playing the ↑ violin . People often think he uses the phrase ‘Elementary, my dear Watson’ when he is explaining to his friend, Dr Watson, how easy it is to understand something. In fact, this phrase does not appear in any of the stories. Nevertheless, people sometimes use it to emphasize how simple a solution to a problem is.