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far less help

thetazuo

Senior Member
Chinese - China
The constable’s features broadened into a grin. “I’ve seen many a drunk chap in my time,” he said, “but never anyone so cryin’ drunk as that cove. He was at the gate when I came out, a-leanin’ up ag’in the railings, and a-singin’ at the pitch o’ his lungs about Columbine’s New-fangled Banner, or some such stuff. He couldn’t stand, far less help.”

Excerpt From
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
Arthur Conan Doyle
This material may be protected by copyright.

Hi. What does the bold part mean?
Thank you.
Presumably, he speaker was searching for someone to help him? The drunk man he met couldn't even stand up, let alone to help him. He couldn't stand up so he was incapable of helping.
He couldn’t stand, let alone/never mind/much less help.

Paraphrase:
The man was so drunk he couldn’t even stand upright. Helping was out of the question.
Thank you both, Chez and lb
so he was incapable of helping.
He couldn’t stand, let alone/never mind/much less help.

Paraphrase:
The man was so drunk he couldn’t even stand upright. Helping was out of the question.
Do you mean “the drunk man was incapable of ”?
The drunk man was not able to help. He was incapable of providing help to someone / helping someone.
He couldn't stand, let alone (could he) help.
Since he didn't even had the ability to stand, his ability to help was out of the question.
There is not much context but the words imply the constable was looking for someone to help him (the constable) do something. The drunk man was too drunk to provide assistance to the constable.

Helping would have required more effort than standing and he couldn't even stand. So the ability he had to help was far less than his ability to stand, which was already zero.
The preceding words make the situation clear:

"Was the street empty then?"

"Well, it was, as far as anybody that could be of any good goes.

"What do you mean?"

The constable has said, before the lines asked about, that the street was empty "as far as anybody that could be of any good goes". This means that it was empty for practical purposes. There was someone there, bu he was so drunk that "He couldn’t stand, far less help".
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