Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

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Sherlock Holmes and Pope's Essay on Man Nov 04, 2026

Show notes

"all life is a great chain" [STUD] Sherlock Holmes is "Pope's version of the ideal Man, the one who attains his greatest potential without vainly attempting to rise above it." So says Anastasia Klimchynskaya, BSI ("An Old Russian Woman") in her thesis regarding Alexander Pope's four-epistle volume and the great detective, which appeared in the Winter 2013 issue of The Baker Street Journal under the title "A Study in Scarlet and the Study of Mankind: Sherlock Holmes and Pope's Essay on Man." She took home the Morley-Montgomery Award that year. And it's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today. "Trifling Trifles" is short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. In the latest, we discuss a curious lapse of Sherlock Holmes's memory around Sussex. Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

The Morley-Montgomery Award episode series (Patreon | Substack)
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Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Chuckles Oct 28, 2026

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"with many chuckles" [HOUN] We typically don't guffaw ourselves through the Sherlock Holmes stories. They're not designed to bowl us over with amusement. Nor do we snicker, sneer, or chortle. But there was a good deal of chuckling going on in the stories. And Sherlock Holmes was doing most of it. In what situations did Holmes chuckle and what does that tell us about his outlook? It's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today. "Trifling Trifles" is short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. How busy was Dr. Watson, in all reality? Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Download | 33.6 MB 37:33 Links

Related episodes:

Episode 259 - Did Sherlock Holmes Have a Sense of Humor?

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Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Holmes and Watson: Studies in Addiction Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

"I was well aware that the fiend was not dead, but sleeping" [MISS]

Sherlock Holmes infamously used cocaine. Indeed, his habit was such that Dr. Watson, both as a friend and a medical man, was concerned for his health. But addictions in the Canon go beyond that. In this month's "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist" episode, we turn our attention to Baker Street Miscellanea No. 42 (Summer 1985) in which Robert S. Katz turned his own medical mind to the attention of Holmes's and Watson's addictions, and how they may have been inextricably linked. And it's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today. "Trifling Trifles" is short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. How busy was Dr. Watson, in all reality? Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

Related episodes:

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Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Watson's Bull Pup Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

"I keep a bull pup" [STUD] Among all of the Canonical canines we run into — the spectral Hound, the inveterate Toby, both Carlos, the irascible and protective Roy — there is one that escapes our attention. We of course refer to Watson's bull pup. But maybe there's a reason for that. Maybe — just maybe — it wasn't a dog at all. But what was it? Join us as we investigate the curious incident of the bull pup in the night-time. It's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Take a look around. "Trifling Trifles" is short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. How busy was Dr. Watson, in all reality? Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

"The Bull Pup: Canine? Gun? Or Something Else?" by James O'Leary (I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere)
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Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Why He Isn't 'Sir Sherlock' Today Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

"services which may perhaps some day be described" [3GAR] In "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs," we're famously told that "Holmes refused a knighthood". Watson beguilingly only referred to it in passing, and we have no further information on the topic. Peter Calamai, BSI ("The Leeds Mercury") developed a plausible theory that he put to the test in the Autumn 2012 issue of The Baker Street Journal titled "Why He Isn't 'Sir Sherlock' Today." It garnered him the Morley-Montgomery Award that year. And it's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today. "Trifling Trifles" is back — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. How busy was Dr. Watson, in all reality? Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

Peter Calamai on Episode 121 of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
The Morley-Montgomery Award episode series (Patreon | Substack)
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Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

How Annoying Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

"Would that annoy you?" [STUD] Sherlock Holmes was not always the most patient of men. Then again there were others who had no capacity for tolerating delays, incompetence, or simple interruptions. There are all manners of annoyances in the Sherlock Holmes stories and all kinds of people to annoy. Let's get to work! It's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Take a look around. "Trifling Trifles" is short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This time, "Watson's Cases" show the influence of the good doctor. Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

£1000 Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

"A thousand pounds! Great Lord of mercy!" [BLUE] One thousand pounds sounds like a lot of money — now and in Sherlock Holmes's time. How much would £1000 in 1895 be worth today? In which stories do we find a mention of "a thousand pounds"? And what is going on around each of those sums? Answers to all of these questions and more are ahead. It's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Take a look around. "Trifling Trifles" is back — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This time, "Watson's Cases" show the influence of the good doctor. Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

Episode 445 - £100
Check out all of our money episodes, handily curated in these collections on Patreon and Substack
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Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Watson, Lomax, and the Goodly Volume Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

"departed to my rooms with a goodly volume under my arm" [ILLU] In this month's "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist" episode, it's a matter of a listener-suggested topic. After our Trifling Trifles look at Lomax the sub-librarian, Maxine Reneker wrote to us with an idea. In 2020, Maxine teamed up with Marsha Pollak to pen "Watson, Lomax, and the Goodly Volume: Observations on the Illustrious Client," in The Baker Street Journal. It gives us a much better idea of what Watson was reading as he prepared for his encounter with Baron Gruner. And it's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today. "Trifling Trifles" is back — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. "Watson's Cases" show the influence of the good doctor. Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

The London Library
Trifling Trifles: "Lomax" (Patreon | Substack)
The Baker Street Journal
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Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

A Study in Pink Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

"a little wisp of pink" [STUD] The Sherlock Holmes stories are filled with colors, from the stories with colors in the titles to the rich scenic details in each. What a great opportunity to explore the rainbow! We take this opportunity to explore the context of the color pink across the Canon. We even set it up like something of a quiz so you can play along in real time. Do you think you have what it takes to name the stories? It's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Take a look around. "Trifling Trifles" is back — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This time, "Watson's Cases" show the influence of the good doctor. Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

I Met Harry Murcher Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

"him who has the Holland Grove beat" [STUD] Harry Murcher. There's a name from the Sherlock Holmes stories that could be the answer to a particularly dastardly quiz. In this episode, we'll get to meet Harry, courtesy of Sonia Fetherston, BSI ("The Solitary Cyclist"), whose article "I Met Harry Murcher: Getting Acquainted with Holland Grove's Elusive P.C." appeared in the Spring 2011 issue of The Baker Street Journal and won the Morley-Montgomery Award that year. It's just a Trifle. If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift. Our Merch Store is open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today. "Trifling Trifles" is back — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This time, "Watson's Cases" show us the good doctor's influence. Make sure you're signed up so you don't miss this is exclusive benefit for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

The Morley-Montgomery Award episode series (Patreon | Substack)
All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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