At 06:46 AM 12/13/96 -0800,  Barry Cadwgan wrote:

Travis Butler wrote:

From:        Richard Lawson, sterman@sprynet.com

: Nouma grimaced; he was losing ground here.  She was becoming
: angrier, now that all of her suspicions had been confirmed.
: Nevertheless, he tried to see it through.  "To paraphrase
: the esteemed Mr. Holmes, when you eliminate the highly
: probable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the
: truth.

Huh?  Sorry, I don't get this at all.  Why would you eliminate the
highly probable?

Wow, I can't believe you haven't come across this saying before,
Sebastian.  It *is* a quote from Sherlock Holmes (aka Arthur Conan
Doyle).

I think what's throwing him is that the quote's wrong. The real quote
reads something like: "Once you eliminate the *impossible*, then whatever
remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Makes more sense that
way, ne?

Well, as he said it's a _paraphrase_, _not_ a quote.

        How about misquote.  And like Sebastian said: Why would
you eliminate the highly probable?

Venkarel
(who remembers what Dirk Gently had to say about this in 
Douglas Adams' "The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul")