BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Question on John's sleeping arrangements at Sarah's flat.

**Posted by blackeyedlily** September 26, 2012 7:36 am

When John wakes up at Sarah's he is stiff from sleeping on the sofa. Sarah comments that he should have slept on the *___*. I haven't been able to figure out this word. Can anyone tell me what she says? Mycroft asks John about it when he returns to 221B, but I still can't understand what he says. I suspect this is a British term that I'm not familiar with. I'd appreciate anyone clearing up this mystery for me.

**Posted by kazza474** September 26, 2012 8:02 am

A "Lie Low" and as the name suggests, it's a low height bed.
I believe it is basically a British term.

**Posted by Davina** September 26, 2012 9:37 am

LILO. It is usually an inflatable mattress. This term is also used for those inflatables that you can lie on in the swimming pool or in the sea. You know the ones it is practically impossible to get on in any elegant manner and equally impossible to get off without rolling into the water.

**Posted by Sherli Bakerst** September 26, 2012 11:15 pm

Oh, thanks. I'd never been able to figure out the word, either.

**Posted by Ivy** September 27, 2012 6:44 am

I understand the word LILO, just didn't know what it is. These things are horrible, I hate to sleep on them.

**Posted by KeepersPrice** September 27, 2012 4:56 pm

To figure out the word, I had to turn on the subtitles on my DVD. Then once I saw the word, I googled it to see what it really was.

**Posted by tobeornot221b** September 27, 2012 5:02 pm

Ivy wrote:
I understand the word LILO, just didn't know what it is. These things are horrible, I hate to sleep on them.

But it's even better to sleep on a LILO than on the LINO.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** September 28, 2012 12:51 pm

I find it really amusing that Sarah doesn't let him sleep in the bed...poor John.

**Posted by Smoggy_London_Air** September 29, 2012 3:27 am

"Maybe next time I'll let you kip at the end of the bed."
"And what about the time after that?"
I liked Sarah. I wish she had stayed on. I suppose that's just the fate of John "Three Continents" Watson.

**Posted by veecee** October 4, 2012 10:22 pm

Thank youi! That term had been bugging me, too. In the US we call it an air mattress.

Yes, sorry to see Sarah go.

**Posted by besleybean** October 5, 2012 7:34 pm

Maybe she'll be back!

**Posted by blackeyedlily** October 8, 2012 1:55 am

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. I'm among those Americans who love British culture, but don't always understand terms unfamiliar in our typical American speak.

**Posted by besleybean** October 8, 2012 7:22 am

Funny tho.
I remember when I was about 16, at school.
My pal turned to me in the English class and asked: how do you spell ' lielow'?
Not only did I not have a clue what she was talking about, as you can see, I still do not know how to spell that word!

**Posted by horserider99** October 8, 2012 5:31 pm

blackeyedlily wrote:
Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. I'm among those Americans who love British culture, but don't always understand terms unfamiliar in our typical American speak.

Yay for Americans who love Brits!

**Posted by harleyq** November 3, 2012 3:05 am

I'll second that Yay for Americans who love Brits as I'm one of theml and I too appreciate this explanation as I never really understood this exchange.

**Posted by Estela** January 2, 2013 8:05 am

Smoggy_London_Air wrote:
"Maybe next time I'll let you kip at the end of the bed."
"And what about the time after that?"
I liked Sarah. I wish she had stayed on. I suppose that's just the fate of John "Three Continents" Watson.

Three Continents???

**Posted by besleybean** January 2, 2013 8:28 am

I think it's supposed to mean he's a man of the world.

**Posted by SusiGo** January 2, 2013 8:31 am

It's an allusion to "The Sign of Four" in which Watson's experience with women on three continents is mentioned. So it's a nod to his image as a ladies' man (although in the series he doesn't seem to be very successful).

**Posted by BlinkULDHC** March 23, 2013 6:44 am

I think LILO is actually the brand name, and it presumably has been so commonly used in the UK that air mattresses have come to be known as "lilos" -- i.e., a generic trademark (like Xerox'ing a copy, or using a Kleenex to blow a nose, or Googling a term).

**Posted by Maggi13** May 30, 2013 7:34 pm

Thanks so much for enlightening me. Just watching the episode and it bugged me again
Also loved Sarah, they had such good chemistry.. and she is smart. Miss her.