This word is sprinkled pretty evenly throughout, and I’ve included every iteration from “carelessly” to “carefully” in our search.

• 1.049 Carefully!
• 1.049 Carefully!’ he said.
• 1.063 please be careful!’
• 1.067 So, carefully! carefully with the plates!
• 1.067 So, carefully! carefully with the plates!
• 1.114 as quiet and careful as we could,
• 2.049 warming to his new work as he lifted it carefully out,
• 2.113 jumbled carelessly on shelves
• 2.126 Please be more careful,
• 3.018 Not that they would care;
• 3.025 not if you care for such things.
• 3.026 and careful,
• 4.025 and anyway goblins don’t care who they catch,
• 5.012 but he took care they never found him out.
• 5.130 the only thing he had ever cared for,
• 5.132 Careful now,
• 5.133 in spite of all care,
• 6.004 so he crept forward carefully.
• 6.015 very carefully
• 6.016 has crept along carefully
• 7.018 and you must be careful not to annoy him,
• 7.020 and I was explaining very carefully,’
• 7.095 and Beorn did not appear to care for such things:
• 7.126 to last them for weeks with care,
• 7.151 There is, if you care to go
• 7.153 take care of yourselves –
• 8.006 were careful never to let their bodies show
• 8.007 for they were extremely careful with their provisions.
• 8.020 Carefully!
• 8.033 as if he no longer cared for all the troubles that vexed them.
• 8.045 They did not care tuppence about the butterflies,
• 8.054 not caring if it was trolls or goblins.
• 8.125 They had to have the whole vanishing business carefully explained,
• 9.027 and locked it again carefully as soon as the dwarf was outside.
• 10.003 and the care of the banks.
• 10.018 but they were not keeping very careful watch,
• 10.040 and Bilbo was careful never to become invisible.
• 12.008 and warned by the echoes to take more than hobbit’s care
• 13.007 Now do be careful!’
• 13.017 As Thorin carefully explained,
• 14.017 They could all get into boats for all he cared.
• 14.037 and in the care of the sick
• 15.028 for they had food for some weeks with care –
• 16.027 Personally I am only too ready to consider all your claims carefully,
• 16.046 and climbed carefully back towards the Gate.

Never hallway. I love that the word is a mundane corridor and a grand place like Hart Hall.

• 1.002 The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel:
• 1.028 in your hall
• 1.046 in the hall
• 1.046 in the hall.
• 1.066 Send them down the hall to roll!
• 1.070 Bombur produced a drum from the hall;
• 1.074 In hollow halls beneath the fells.
• 1.081 They fled their hall to dying fall
• 1.105 That marks a hidden passage to the Lower Halls.’
• 1.110 and in his hall there hung a large one
• 1.122 and they made huger halls
• 1.122 So my grandfather’s halls became full of armour
• 1.123 and routed out all the halls,
• 6.028 right to the edge of the great hall,
• 7.045 in a wide hall with a fire-place
• 7.045 They passed through this dim hall,
• 7.075 I followed down into the main hall,
• 7.092 Inside the hall it was now quite dark.
• 7.092 on the pillars of the hall about the central hearth.
• 7.093 in his hall,
• 7.093 and the hall had not seen such a gathering for many a year.
• 7.095 in his hall,
• 7.096 in the middle of the hall were built
• 7.105 In this hall we can rest sound
• 7.106 at the side of the hall,
• 7.111 answered the other dwarves who were moving about the hall;
• 7.113 Just before sunset he walked into the hall,
• 7.116 dodging round the pillars of the hall,
• 7.128 O master of the wide wooden halls!’
• 8.037 like the pillars of some huge twilight hall.
• 8.132 and wide halls;
• 9.005 In a great hall with pillars hewn out of the living stone
• 9.029 and in the halls above.
• 9.035 and find their way into the upper halls,
• 9.039 in one of the halls
• 9.053 Leave the halls and caverns deep,
• 10.028 From one great hall shone many lights
• 10.030 of the hall.
• 10.034 from the doors of the hall
• 10.034 inside the hall
• 10.035 His halls shall echo golden
• 11.010 and in the halls under the Mountain then –
• 11.011 all the halls within must be filled with his foul reek.’
• 12.017 in his stolen hall
• 12.021 the hall smoked,
• 12.072 and the light of his eyes lit the hall
• 12.091 Smaug knows now how I came down to his hall,
• 12.096 in the hall below:
• 13.008 and rolled headlong into the hall!
• 13.011 Faint echoes ran round the unseen hall,
• 13.015 when Bilbo fell forward down the step with a bump into the hall,
• 13.018 as he wandered away into the vast hall;
• 13.022 Bilbo was crossing the floor of the hall.
• 13.033 All were now eager to explore the hall
• 13.034 The dark hall was filled with a melody
• 13.045 the hall of feasting
• 15.019 You may go back to your halls
• 15.036 The King has come unto his hall!
• 15.038 In hollow halls beneath the fells.
• 15.042 The king is come unto his hall
• 15.048 much of the wealth of his halls
• 18.017 I go now to the halls of waiting ss to sit beside my fathers,
• 18.032 in the ancient halls.
• 18.039 when our halls are made fair once more,
• 18.043 in his halls.
• 18.045 in my halls the better shall I be pleased!’
• 19.032 And horror in the halls of stone
• 19.039 in the hall

It’s a common word, used about fifty times in the work!

• 01.020 to send you on this adventure.
• 01.066 “Send them down the hall to roll!”
• 01.068 he sent a smaller smoke-ring from his short clay-pipe
• 01.068 of the smoke-rings he had sent up the wind over The Hill.
• 01.122 Kings used to send for our smiths,
• 02.079 but he was sent spinning up into the top of some bushes,
• 03.006 I sent a message by my friends,
• 04.008 that they sent Fili
• 04.008 (when everybody could see that it was absolutely no use sending Bilbo)
• 04.043 That sent them on faster than ever,
• 05.012 and there was no reason to go that way – unless the Great Goblin sent them.
• 05.090 It sent a shiver down his back.
• 06.043 but they won’t find it difficult to send stones
• 07.088 and the story had kept him from sending the dwarves off
• 07.116 he was so busy sending smoke rings
• 07.127 and the food I send with you.
• 07.127 At the gate of the forest I must ask you to send back my horse
• 07.135 Now you must send back these excellent ponies
• 07.137 You don’t mention sending that back.’
• 07.138 because I am not sending it.’
• 07.140 I am not sending the horse back,
• 07.142 and I am sending Mr. Baggins with you.
• 08.029 Now he sent a swift
• 08.045 and what is the use of sending a hobbit!’
• 08.057 until they agreed at length to send out a couple of spies,
• 08.057 But then they could not agree on who was to be sent:
• 08.062 I shall send Mr. Baggins alone first to talk to them.
• 08.119 and sending a shower of stones
• 09.012 that he could get a message for help sent to the wizard,
• 09.024 and it would not do to send up poor stuff!’
• 10.041 He sent out his spies about the shores of the lake
• 10.045 had been sent round by circuitous paths
• 11.001 and the ponies for their own use that had been sent to meet them.
• 11.006 Thorin sent out a scouting expedition
• 12.079 but the nostrils sent forth fire
• 13.016 and Gloin were sent back to their bundles at the top of the tunnel.
• 13.048 A misty sun sent its pale light
• 14.033 What sort of gold have they sent down the river to reward us?
• 14.039 for Bard at once had speedy messengers sent
• 14.042 but great store of goods he sent ahead by water.
• 14.043 sent down from the Forest.
• 15.021 that you would send messengers to our kin
• 15.027 Filiand Kili were sent,
• 15.028 and sent them back riderless to the South.
• 17.030 but Thorin sent messengers by Roäc
• 17.033 We are sent from Dain son of Nain,’
• 17.035 Bard then sent messengers at once to the Gate;
• 17.050 they sent against it a shower of arrows,
• 18.010 I have been sent to look here for the last time.
• 18.034 From that treasure Bard sent much gold

Good morning, Word Fans! This common word starts to make no sense when I read it over and over.

• 1.002 wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes),
• 1.066 And when you’ve finished, if any are whole,
• 1.130 so on the whole I think I ought to be praised
• 2.042 not if the whole cavalcade had passed two feet off.
• 6.040 Before long the whole slope above them
• 6.058 In a minute there was a whole pack of them
• 7.116 he had eaten two whole loaves
• 7.122 and that a great raid of the whole goblin army
• 7.125 and Gandalf thought it wise to tell him their whole story
• 8.103 and at once the whole lot of them came hurrying
• 8.125 They had to have the whole vanishing business carefully explained,
• 12.009 and the whole lot could stay here for ever,
• 12.022 To hunt the whole mountain
• 12.035 with the whole hoard of Thror on my back?
• 12.079 Luckily the whole head
• 15.059 disapproved of the whole turn of affairs.
• 15.060 The whole place still stinks of dragon,’
• 16.026 Personally I am tired of the whole affair.
• 17.034 encircle the whole mountain;
• 17.060 he preferred on the whole to defend the Elvenking.

Another common word used sparingly. Let’s see. If there are about 95,000 words in the work and 6,000 individual words, then each word is used an average of 16 times… Yet “finish” is used less than half of that. Let’s not make too much of that, but let’s do notice.

• 1.023 just about the time when Bilbo was finishing his second cake
• 1.066 And when you’ve finished, if any are whole,
• 7.088 Now perhaps we can finish this story
• 7.089 By the time the wizard had finished his tale
• 9.038 running round putting the finishing touches to the packing,
• 10.004 in fact finishing his other business
• 15.011 No sooner had he finished speaking

Poles are apparently only for working on the river with a cargo or for thumping!

• 1.066 Pound them up with a thumping pole;
• 9.019 and poled or rowed up the stream;
• 9.062 They quickly poled
• 9.065 There was a mighty pushing of poles.
• 9.068 where other elves stood to fend them off with poles,

All of which brings to mind the finest reference to poles in all of literature:

‘Evenin’,’ it said. ‘Dis is a bit embarrassin’. You know a pole?’
‘Pole?’ said Igor suspiciously.
‘It are a long wooden fing-‘
‘Yeth? Well? What about it?’
‘I’d like you to imagine, right, dat dere’s a black an’ yellow striped one across dis road, right? Only ‘cos we’ve only got der one, an’ it’s bein’ used up on der Copperhead road tonight.’

Terry Pratchett – Carpe Jugulum

In The Hobbit, this word is only used as a verb – and, in fact, only as an imperative verb in rhyming verse!

• 1.066 Pound them up with a thumping pole;
• 4.020 Pound, pound, far underground!
• 4.020 Pound, pound, far underground!

A common word, used aplenty – and that’s very satsifying in a book full of liminal moments. Whether it is a coming-of-age story for Bilbo is not mine to say – I know that it is for me.

• 01.002 It had a perfectly round door
• 01.002 The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel:
• 01.002 and many little round doors opened out of it,
• 01.006 and Bilbo Baggins was standing at his door after breakfast
• 01.010 ‘And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors,
• 01.010 Then Bilbo sat down on a seat by his door,
• 01.016 as if I was selling buttons at the door!’
• 01.021 and scuttled inside his round green door,
• 01.023 was still standing outside the door,
• 01.025 and ran to the door.
• 01.026 As soon as the door was opened,
• 01.030 and off he went to the door.
• 01.031 and he too hopped inside as soon as the door was open,
• 01.038 as soon as the door began to open –
• 01.044 ‘Someone at the door!’
• 01.046 and he had to run to the door.
• 01.047 but a hard rat-tat on the hobbit’s beautiful green door.
• 01.048 He pulled open the door with a jerk,
• 01.048 He had made quite a dent on the beautiful door;
• 01.049 and then open the door like a pop-gun!
• 01.056 called the other dwarves through the door.
• 01.059 and Dwalin at the door of the kitchen,
• 01.065 Splash the wine on every door!
• 01.095 and a drink he crept nervously to the door of the parlour.
• 01.095 if it had not been for the sign on the door,
• 01.097 I have no signs on my door –
• 01.098 And I assure you there is a mark on this door –
• 01.109 “Five feet high the door
• 01.110 ‘How could such a large door be kept secret from everybody outside,
• 01.111 I should guess there is a closed door
• 01.141 not to speak of getting inside the door?
• 02.002 and the front door was open,
• 02.021 who was standing at the inn door looking out for him.
• 02.111 a big door of stone leading to a cave.
• 02.113 Then the stone door swung back
• 03.030 and found its doors flung wide.
• 03.040 beside the plain runes which say ‘five feet high the door
• 04.003 They had thought of coming to the secret door
• 04.013 Oin and Gloin wanted to light a fire at the door
• 05.135 where a great door,
• 05.135 a stone door,
• 05.136 with drawn swords sitting just inside the door,
• 05.142 ‘Look out for the door,’
• 05.145 ‘I must get to the door,
• 05.145 I must get to the door!’
• 05.145 got up, and ran for the door.
• 05.146 His buttons had got wedged on the edge of the door
• 05.146 and shone bright on the outside of the door –
• 05.147 ‘There is a shadow by the door.
• 05.149 and cursing to guard the door.
• 06.012 out of the lower door,
• 06.022 in the door,
• 07.044 said the man leading the way through a dark door
• 07.045 and came through another smaller door into a sort of veranda
• 07.097 The great door had creaked
• 07.107 and a noise as of some great animal scuffling at the door.
• 08.132 Before his huge doors of stone
• 08.144 in one of the inmost caves with strong wooden doors,
• 09.003 to the king’s doors.
• 09.006 ‘There is no escape from my magic doors
• 09.010 but not to be allowed to pass the doors of their little prisons,
• 09.011 in the doors,
• 09.014 and he came to the door
• 09.027 First he unlocked Balin’s door,
• 09.029 Then off he went from door to door,
• 09.029 Then off he went from door to door,
• 09.035 They passed a door through which the chief guard
• 09.036 to pass through all those locked doors
• 09.037 through the doors
• 09.054 was being rolled to the doors!
• 09.061 in haste from the king’s great doors.
• 10.018 in through the door.
• 10.028 They passed its doors
• 10.029 in a loud voice from the door,
• 10.034 from the doors of the hall
• 11.006 the western spurs of the Mountain for the hidden door,
• 11.013 on the western slopes for the secret door.
• 11.013 must stand the secret door.
• 11.014 yet they did not doubt that they had found the door at last.
• 11.019 The others who were busy with the secret of the door
• 11.019 the door was hidden.
• 11.019 that had shut this door;
• 11.038 A door five feet high
• 12.001 before the door
• 12.007 when the hobbit crept through the enchanted door
• 12.008 the faint outline of the door,
• 12.010 till all sign of the door behind had faded away.
• 12.012 as the door above.
• 12.019 The door behind them was pulled nearly to,
• 12.021 he sped from his deep lair through its great door,
• 12.023 ‘The door! The tunnel!
• 12.029 His hot breath shrivelled the grass before the door,
• 12.031 until dawn came pale through the crack of the door.
• 12.032 but the door withstood his searching eye,
• 12.042 The light from the door,
• 12.042 as he drew near the lower door.
• 12.093 and shut the door.’
• 12.094 though they delayed shutting the door –
• 12.094 not far down from the half-open door
• 12.098 He sat nearest to the door
• 12.099 ‘Shut the door!’
• 12.099 Shut the door before it is too late!’
• 12.100 and getting up he kicked away the stone that wedged the door.
• 12.101 What would have happened if the door had still been open
• 13.002 ‘Let us try the door!’
• 13.002 and groped back to where the door had been.
• 13.002 would ever open that door again.
• 13.017 Quickly Bilbo trotted to the door
• 13.017 So they sat near the door
• 13.023 until he came to the great doors at the further side,
• 13.041 they passed through the gaping doors,
• 13.044 Before them light came dimly through great doors,
• 13.046 As they came through yet more doors
• 13.050 ‘I never expected to be looking out of this door.
• 13.057 since the dragon smashed the magic door,
• 13.066 in which there was an opening like a door.
• 13.066 From that door there was a wide view East
• 13.067 and that door behind leads
• 13.071 but the others sat near the outer door
• 14.001 when he smashed the door
• 15.026 the small secret door)
• 15.050 While an armed host lies before our doors,
• 16.042 rose from a tent door where he was sitting
• 18.051 to the doors of Beorn’s house;
• 19.034 and came right back to Bilbo’s own door.
• 19.035 were thick round the door,
• 19.041 when there was a ring at the door.

A fascinating little non-robust instance in Chapter 12 of Bilbo speaking of Smaug in terms that apply to Hobbits. I wonder if there are others!

• 1.002 bedrooms, bathrooms,
• 1.065 Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
• 1.143 in the best bedroom next to him:
• 12.093 to damage his bedroom