In its first meaning, of vegetables and fruits, but in its second meaning – an its Latin origin – relevant also to animals.

• 05.048 Is it juicy?
• 08.082 but I’ll wager there is good juice inside.’
• 08.104 to see which was the juiciest to eat.

“juice, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

Now I finally understand a college dining commons!

at Oxford (c1891), a definite portion of victuals supplied from the college buttery or kitchen, at a regular charge…

In wider sense: Rations, allowance of victuals; daily fare.

• 8.049 even after weeks of short commons.

“commons, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

Wow!  The oldest meaning of “taste” is “touch”!  I kid thee not, here’s the OED.

†1. The sense of touch, feeling (with the hands, etc.); the act of touching, touch.

• 05.015 at least a tasty morsel it’d make us, gollum!’
• 08.007 it proved horrible to taste,
• 09.023 and taste the new wine that has just come in.
• 09.024 I’ll taste with you,
• 09.045 Come give us a taste of your sleeping-draught before we fall to!
• 12.062 (and taste)
• 13.009 and the taste of vapour was on his tongue.
• 15.059 and being besieged inside it was not at all to his taste.
• 19.020 I suppose this is the first taste of it.’

“taste, n.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

Greatly to my surprise, this is a common word, in the 4,000s of our frequency list.

a. The male of the deer, esp. of the red deer; a stag; spec. a male deer after its fifth year.

• 07.133 Sometimes Bilbo saw the horns of the harts
• 08.030 when the hart bore down on him,
• 08.032 and look for the hart,
• 08.033 a hind and fawns as snowy white as the hart had been dark.

“hart, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

Red, black, and white – the presence of the colourless Mirkwood deer make the common red deer (Cervus elaphus) seem less common.  All the deer are in two chapters – I wonder if we would have seen red deer in Chapter 7 if we were not about to see the others in Chapter 8.

• 07.133 of red deer browsing
• 07.134 There were no more deer;
• 08.029 Out of the gloom came suddenly the shape of a flying deer.
• 08.033 Suddenly on the path ahead appeared some white deer,
• 08.033 The deer turned
• 08.035 and the white deer that had appeared upon their path,

Well, Word Fans, sometimes it’s the integumentary organ, sometimes it’s just that used to carry potable liquid.  Be careful when counting it as a food word.

• 02.059 “not when he was skinned
• 02.080 and his skin torn,
• 05.016 The hobbit jumped nearly out of his skin
• 05.087 in a pouch next his skin,
• 06.078 till hair smells and skins crack,
• 06.099 he was not much good at skinning rabbits
• 07.021 when he doesn’t turn their skins into squirrels?’ asked Bilbo.
• 07.022 He changes his skin:
• 07.126 I will provide you with skins for carrying water,
• 08.008 and filled some of their emptied skins at its bank.
• 08.082 What nasty thick skins they have to be sure,
• 08.110 and skin hanging on a tree.
• 12.081 right down to the skin.

“skin, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

Oho, observe the distribution of this word!  I am curious that it doesn’t occur closer to the sere desolation of the dragon!

• 05.046 Never thirsty, ever drinking,
• 07.126 though they made one thirsty.
• 08.008 They were thirsty too,
• 08.046 that they were also parchingly thirsty,
• 08.046 you cannot quench a terrible thirst
• 09.001 and thirst.
• 09.008 and thirsty,

My word.  “Bowl” the vessel for food and drink, described loosely in the OED as wider than a cup, comes from Norse and German roots and is related to “skull”.  Well there’s our vivid startling imagery for the day!

“Bowl”, to play a game which involves rolling a ball, which is obscurely spelled “bowl”  comes from Latin through French.

So!  Two completely different words.  Shall we separate them out?  I think in this case we ought.  Here’s the one related to food:

• 1.066 Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl;
• 7.093 others bore on their broad backs trays with bowls
• 8.044 all round like the edges of a great bowl,
• 8.071 The elvish folk were passing bowls from hand to hand
• 9.025 and for smaller bowls
• 13.039 out of one of Beorn’s wooden bowls!’
• 13.046 and bowls

“bowl, n.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

“bowl, n.2.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

“bowl, v.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

Clotted cream is gently whipped cream, with or without sweetening added.

• 07.023 and lives most on cream
• 07.116 and clotted cream)

“cream, n.2.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016.

We have gotten into a marvellous discussion about the word “hive” here at home.  Is it a food word, as frying-pan is?  We have already made the “sentient beings are friends, not food” call when mentioning bees and delved into the question of bees and dairy cattle with vigour.

For today, we will skip “hive” yet include “bee”.

• 7.023 and hives of great fierce bees,
• 7.025 Bees were busy everywhere.
• 7.025 and such bees!
• 7.031 The noise of the giant bees flying to