Aggressive Body Parts

Observations made previously, but about to be squeezed off the bottom of the POSTS.  Converted to a PAGE.

We have noticed that Watson often provided imaginative descriptions of characters, and in four instances described people as having “aggressive” facial features. In the Canon, we found two aggressive noses, one aggressive chin, and one aggressive red beard that seemed to change its hue in response to the owner’s mood. For what it’s worth, here they are.

In The Sign of the Four (SIGN), Johanthan Small’s face in repose was not an unpleasing one, though his heavy brows and aggressive chin gave him a terrible expression when moved to anger.

In The Final Problem (FINA), Colonel Sebastian Moran had cruel blue eyes, with drooping, cynical lids, and a fierce, aggressive nose, and a threatening, deep-lined brow.

In The Adventure of the Dancing Men (DANC), Abe Slaney strode up the path which led to the door. He was a tall, handsome, swarthy fellow, clad in a suit of gray flannel, with a Panama hat, a bristling black beard, and a great, aggressive, hooked nose, and flourished a cane as he walked.

In The Adventure of the Priory School, The Duke’s beard turned more aggressively red than ever against his ghastly white face. (It is possible that his beard did not actually change its hue, but merely appeared to do so as his face became pale.)

We wondered what the Internet thinks of aggressive noses, and looked up Google images of them. Turned out to be mostly automobile grilles, plus one California red wine. Had to go pretty far down the list to find a picture of a person with an aggressive nose, and it was some sort of silly-looking clay attachment to the face of a person in a Halloween costume, on Flickr.

So there you have it, for whatever it’s worth. (McMurdo’s Camp does not view the above as a major contribution to Sherlockian writings, but we thought it was not unworthy of mention.)