To rhyme with “grab” in the middle of the line, the goblin poets of Middle Earth present our singular occurrence of “nab”: catch or seize.
- 04.019 Grip, grab! Pinch, nab!
Magnify
“Magnificent” is one of The Ten Thousand, but “magnify” is not! What do we do with that, friends?
- 13.008 which echoes magnified alarmingly;
Laburnum
“Laburnum” is a genus for two small trees in the pea family. The flowers are bright yellow on long hanging stalks with many flowers together. Both species are sometimes called “golden chain tree”. Gandalf’s fireworks, to be described that way, must have been long, swooping successions of gold starbursts.
- 01.017 and laburnums of fire
Wikipedia contributors. “Laburnum.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 9 May. 2015.
Kennel
Only Thorin’s experience in a barrel compares with that of a dog in a kennel. Is it a low image? or high because of the duress? I will label it low.
- 09.038 in a small kennel;
- 10.010 in a kennel for a week.
Jibber
And here’s the partner-word to the one just posted.
- 04.036 croaking, jibbering and jabbering;
Jabber
This word is onomatopoeic from the sound of words which carry no meaning to the listener.
- 04.036 croaking, jibbering and jabbering;
“jabber, v.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 3 June 2015.
Icy
Much of our story takes place in the mountains, but we only hear about ice in Gollum’s underground lake and the river from Mirkwood to Lake-town.
- 05.010 it was icy cold.
- 09.055 in icy water,
Hail
While the literal hail falls in the stone-giants’ game in chapter 4 and a metaphorical hail of arrows comes ten chapters later, most uses of “hail” are not about weather but the homophone meaning to call out in address. The original call was an interjection wishing the addressed person good health. Waes hael!
- 04.005 and the hail about
- 10.009 and voices hailed the raft-steerers.
- 11.031 and hailed the dwarves,
- 13.041 Then he hailed the others,
- 14.013 A hail of dark arrows leaped up
- 15.032 Thorin hailed them:
- 15.045 Again Thorin hailed them
- 15.046 Hail Thorin!
- 17.001 and hailed them,
- 17.004 Hail Thorin!’
- 18.015 Hail! Thorin,’
Harper, Douglas. “Hail”. Online Etymology Dictionary. Web.
Gall
The figurative use of the verb “gall” as “to annoy” rather than its literal use “to cause a sore” dates from the sixteenth century.
- 05.086 till it galled him;
Harper, Douglas. “Gall”. Online Etymology Dictionary. Web.
Fable
Only the accumulated treasure of Smaug is fabulous enough to be “fabled”.
- 14.035 of the fabled treasure of the Mountain
words that you were saying 