"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 23: SALVER

"I had opened my mouth to reply to this tirade, when with a crisp knock our landlady entered, bearing a card upon the brass salver." (The Sign of the Four, chapter I)



"salver" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 22: JARVEYS

"All these considerations led me to the irresistible conclusion that Jefferson Hope was to be found among the jarveys of the Metropolis." (A Study in Scarlet, Part II, chapter VII)



"jarveys" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 21: BROUGHAM

"The ordinary London growler is considerably less wide than a gentleman’s brougham." (A Study in Scarlet, Part II, chapter VII)



"brougham" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 20: SURETIES

"That evening Jefferson Hope was taken into custody, and not being able to find sureties, was detained for some weeks." (A Study in Scarlet, Part II, chapter V)



"sureties" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 19: INEXORABLE

"Lucy and her father would fain have rested longer, but Jefferson Hope was inexorable." (A Study in Scarlet, Part II, chapter V)



"inexorable" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 18: CHAPARRAL

"As far as the eye can reach stretches the great flat plain-land, all dusted over with patches of alkali, and intersected by clumps of the dwarfish chaparral bushes." (A Study in Scarlet, Part II, chapter I)



"chaparral" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 17: SENTENTIOUSLY

"'To a great mind, nothing is little,' remarked Holmes, sententiously." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter VI)



"sententiously" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 16: CHAFFED

"I have chaffed them so much that they would never have let me hear the end of it." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter V)



"chaffed" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 15: ULSTER

"He returned in a few seconds enveloped in an ulster and a cravat." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter V)


"ulster" on Dictionary.com (definition #4)

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 14: SERE

"Well, if a man can stride four and a-half feet without the smallest effort, he can’t be quite in the sere and yellow." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter IV)



"sere" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 13: FLORID

"In all probability the murderer had a florid face, and the finger-nails of his right hand were remarkably long." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter III)



"florid" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 12: DEPRECIATORY

"'And what does it mean now that you have found it?' asked Gregson in a depreciatory voice." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter III)



"depreciatory" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 11: GOUT

"'You are sure that there is no wound?' he asked, pointing to numerous gouts and splashes of blood which lay all round." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter III)



"gout" on Dictionary.com (definition #2)

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 10: PROGNATHOUS

"This malignant and terrible contortion, combined with the low forehead, blunt nose, and prognathous jaw gave the dead man a singularly simious and ape-like appearance, which was increased by his writhing, unnatural posture." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter III)



"prognathous" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 9: MINATORY

"Number 3, Lauriston Gardens wore an illomened and minatory look." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter III)



"minatory" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 8: BUMPTIOUS

"I was still annoyed at his bumptious style of conversation. I thought it best to change the topic." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter II)



"bumptious" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 7: CHIMERICAL

"The theories which I have expressed there, and which appear to you to be so chimerical are really extremely practical—so practical that I depend upon them for my bread and cheese." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter II)



"chimerical" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 6: SONOROUS

"Sometimes the chords were sonorous and melancholy." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter II)



"sonorous" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 5: PORTMANTEAU

"That very evening I moved my things round from the hotel, and on the following morning Sherlock Holmes followed me with several boxes and portmanteaus." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter II)



"portmanteau" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 4: BODKIN

"'Let us have some fresh blood,' he said, digging a long bodkin into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter I)



"bodkin" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 3: DESULTORY

"His studies are very desultory and eccentric, but he has amassed a lot of out-of-the way knowledge which would astonish his professors." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter I)



"desultory" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 2: LATH

"You are as thin as a lath and as brown as a nut." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter I)



"lath" on Dictionary.com

"Sherlock's Good Words" Day 1: RUSTICATE

"So alarming did the state of my finances become, that I soon realized that I must either leave the metropolis and rusticate somewhere in the country, or that I must make a complete alteration in my style of living." (A Study in Scarlet, Part I, chapter I)

"rusticate" on Dictionary.com

"40 Good Words 2014" - starting tomorrow!

Are you ready to expand your vocabulary this spring?  Check this space every day for a bunch of great new (old) words!

This year's words are all coming from the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in his stories about the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes.  So make sure to come back tomorrow for the start of . . .