Would pass a dying man who, however weak, had no rise of pulse or temperature?

Question

situation:Holmes sets up a plan to pretend to be ill, deceiving Watson and others, not allow them to touch him, lest they would know he is just pretending. Later he explains:-Could I fancy that your (=Watson) astute judgment would pass a dying man who, however weak, had no rise of pulse or temperature?===Does PASS here mean neglecting the real situation and being deceived? If yes, then the sentence is incomprihensible: Holmes is simply pretending; then how come he depicts himself as having no change in pulse or temperature?

GPY · Accepted Answer

I think that "pass" means "accept as genuine". It seems that "rise of pulse or temperature" is something expected in a dying man, which would not have been present in the case of Holmes.

CalifJim · Answer

OttoJwould pass

Or,

would fail to recognize as suspicious

OttoJhow come he depicts himself as having no change in pulse or temperature?

He doesn't. You must be misinterpreting it. He is only pretending to be dying, so he doesn't have those symptoms of a dying man. The text says that a dying man would have those symptoms, not that Holmes has them. From a distance Watson can be deceived into thinking that Holmes is dying, but not if he has an opportunity to observe Holmes more closely.

CJ

Would pass a dying man who, however weak, had no rise of pulse or temperature?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions