Meaning of Dr. Watsonish | Babel Free

Definitions

Resembling or characteristic of the character Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Examples

““How on earth could you tell it was his?” asked a Dr. Watsonish-kind of clerk with as much awe as if he were addressing Sherlock Holmes himself.”

“To a cottage by the sea come a famous English detective and his very Dr. Watson[-]ish friend.”

“Charlie [Robinson] enlightens: […] “In my Dr. Watsonish way, I have rawther deducted that the policy of the Round Table might be summed up thusly: No regular meetings are scheduled, but as activities an occasions demand, the club is called together and I believe past history warrants the conclusion that they have done a better than average job of getting things done.[…]””

“One of the most irritating auctorial devices is that of having a story told through the eyes of a character who takes no part in it, who merely looks and listens in a sort of Dr. Watsonish fascination.”

“I was flattered that he should consider me worthy of his acquaintance; I felt a certain Doctor Watson-ish admiration for the charm and confidence of his manner.”

“Joseph Sedley, a Dr. Watsonish-type character, provided some chuckles.”

“John Jericho has gained a Dr. Watsonish raconteur in Hugh Pentecost’s “Hide Her From Every Eye;” […]”

“Gwyllum Evans, as a kilted Dr. Watsonish commander who sees the warfare through his own fantasies, provides some with his bagpipe entrances and with one of the many great songs of the production.”

“Robert Conrad’s tough, lady-killing Jim West and Ross Martin’s urbane, Dr. Watsonish Artemus Gordon were James Bond types 100 years before Bond’s era, technocratic super-spies in the Gilded Age of the American West (cheez — I’m starting to sound like Kevin Starr).”

“In these pages, an astute Sherlock Holmesian character solves all kinds of mysteries with help from a somewhat inept Dr. Watsonish assistant.”

“The voice of Boyle’s Doctor Watson-ish narrator is deadpan-perfect (“Beersley was known for his composure, his stoicism, his relentless pursuit of the evidence under even the most distracting circumstances”), but the spoofy plot quickly becomes a tedious joke.”

“There’s strong support from Bryan Pringle as an anarchic, gravel-voiced Alfred Doolittle and Michael Medwin as an agreeably Doctor-Watsonish Col Pickering, and the stamping ensemble dance routines during such great numbers as With a Little Bit of Luck and Get Me to the Church on Time exude an infectious exuberance.”

“[…] Dr. Watsonish diagnostician Hamish Wakefield makes bull-headed statements but is easily offended, possibly due to being a closeted homosexual; […]”

“Desolation Island, the fifth book in O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series (Stephen Maturin being the Captain’s phlegmatic, slightly Dr Watson-ish sidekick and confidante), follows Aubrey’s new charge, the HMS Leopard, on a voyage from England to Botany Bay in Australia.”

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