Recurring Word Plays

Deadline pressure from The Strand sometimes resulted in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle committing sloppy mistakes in drafting his Sherlock Holmes stories. He also was prone to a common weakness among writers: the tendency to overuse favorite words and phrases.

I've read and heard "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" scores of times but realized only recently that one of the more memorable expressions is used not once in the story, but twice. When Watson remarks that the plight of Miss Helen Stoner appears to be "a most dark and sinister business," Holmes replies, "Dark enough and sinister enough." Later in the story, after Holmes reveals his line of reasoning to his comrade, Watson exclaims, "I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible crime." To which Holmes acknowledges, "Subtle enough and horrible enough."

Enough is enough. I submit the dialogue, while effective, is also redundant. (To which you well might respond, "Effective enough and redundant enough.")