English Language & Usage Asked on February 23, 2021
I am quoting from the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Reigate Squires by Arthur Conan Doyle:
"’There are some very singular points here,’said Holmes, smiling. ‘Is it not extraordinary that a burglar – and a burglar who had had some previous experience- should deleberately break into a house at a time when he could see from the lights that two of the family were still afoot’. ‘He must have been a cool hand’". I found the following sources:
finedictionary.com which kind of doesn’t fit in the context, and
thesaurus.com which perfectly fits in the context, but I couldn’t find this meaning in any of several online dictionaries.
He's a person who keeps his cool, who is able to stay calm under pressure.
Answered by RedSonja on February 23, 2021
It appears to be a dated, mainly BrE expression:
a cool, calm, controlled and competent individual:
- 1840 [UK] R. Barham ‘Black Mousquetaire’ in Ingoldsby Legends II (1866) 210: A fact which has stamp’d him a rather ‘Cool hand’.
- 1855 [UK] T. Taylor Still Waters Run Deep II ii: I’m a cool hand, I flatter myself, but, by Jove, she nearly threw me off my balance last night.
——-
- 1936 [UK] N. Marsh Death in Ecstasy 143: He’s a very cool hand is monsieur.
- 1965 [US] D. Pearce [title] Cool Hand Luke.
(GDoS)
Answered by user 66974 on February 23, 2021
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