Sherlock Holmes Syndrome
editSherlock Holmes Syndrome is a description of a fictional character's ability to know something very unique and/or obscure and/or specialized for whatever situation the story is in at that moment.
The Syndrome is an informal term describing the characteristic trait, or traits, of a fictional character in a novel, motion picture or Television show.
This 'very non-medical' syndrome usually appears in a character at exactly the time needed to further the story and/or plot (but, not always, this wildly appropriate knowledge can be foreshadowed).
This is not just a character knowing something specific to their occupation. It is not the character knowing something interesting and clever that moves the story along in logical manner.
Example: If a character is prowling the estate of a retired drug lord at night and an angry Red Doberman is running at the character and then the character is able to remember the only known and proven technique to stop and kill such a dog -- silently and without a weapon -- because the French Secret Service trained him for Black Ops in 1950s off the coast of - - well, you get the idea... That character has a severe case of Sherlock Holmes Syndrome.
This is not to be confused with the 'real' Sherlock Holmes who seemed to have a specialized knowledge of all things important and obscure. He could pull it off with style, after all he was the real Sherlock Holmes.
This phrase was created by me in the late 1990s and casually spread among friends.
This listing is an attempt to spread awareness and use of a phrase that can be very on point.