hyphen

Lake-town

lfsaldenbirch , , , , ,

Note that in almost all instances “Lake-town” is the proper name of the town, well and good.  But once, in 14.002, it is a word in itself a kind of town, the uncapitalized “lake-town Esgaroth”.  “Lake-town” is not attested in OED.

  • 09.019 From Lake-town the barrels were brought up the Forest River.
  • 09.020 and floated back to Lake-town,
  • 09.064 down the stream to Lake-town.
  • 10.009 into the little bay of Lake-town.
  • 10.009 in Lake-town.
  • 10.017 I suggest Lake-town,’
  • 10.038 coming down the river to Lake-town.
  • 10.040 in Lake-town,
  • 10.045 three large boats left Lake-town,
  • 11.019 and tools of many sorts from Lake-town,
  • 12.085 to take to Lake-town all right,
  • 12.087 from Lake-town
  • 14.002 The men of the lake-town Esgaroth
  • 14.031 In the Lake-town we have always elected masters
  • 18.034 to the Master of Lake-town;
  • 19.043 and Lake-town was refounded

Lake-man

lfsaldenbirch , ,
  • 09.048 is pushed into the river for the Lake-men to feast on for nothing!’
  • 10.003 and of the bickerings of the Lake-men
  • 12.059 Lake-men,
  • 12.059 of those miserable tub-trading Lake-men,
  • 12.067 though he suspected that the Lake-men
  • 12.087 think of the Lake-men.’
  • 13.063 It was made by the Lake-men for long journeys.)
  • 15.020 you will not trust the Master of the Lake-men,
  • 15.028 that the joined armies of the Lake-men
  • 15.050 and the assistance that we received of the Lake-men
  • 17.058 Down too came many of the Lake-men,
  • 17.061 and the Lake-men

Attested in OED.

“lake, n.4.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/105168. Accessed 14 September 2017.

Key-hole

lfsaldenbirch , ,

Note that in some places it is a hyphenated word and others it is not!

  • 02.113 and fitted it into the key-hole.
  • 03.028 “He is too fat to get through key-holes yet!”
  • 03.044 will shine upon the key-hole.”
  • 09.014 at his keyhole.
  • 11.014 nor any sign of bar or bolt or key-hole;
  • 12.100 No trace of a keyhole was there left on the inside.

OED gives “keyhole” – one word – but the hyphenated form is in the example texts.

“keyhole, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/103145. Accessed 14 September 2017.

Jack-in-the-box

lfsaldenbirch , ,

I would love to know exactly what Bilbo meant here – a children’s toy, I hope?

  • 07.064 Come on my jack-in-the-boxes!’

Update 2017.09.14: Well, well, well.  This Was Beorn to Nori and Ori who came with alacrity from hiding, so I assumed, of course, he meant “oh, you who have popped up vigorously”.  Well.  That’s not all it can mean.  OED gives:

†1. A name for a sharper or cheat; spec. ‘a thief who deceived tradesmen by substituting empty boxes for others full of money’ (Nares). Obs.

†2. Applied contemptuously to the consecrated host, with an allusion to its reservation in the pyx.

3. a. The name of some gambling games.

3. b. ‘A game in which some article, of more or less value, is placed on the top of a stick standing in a hole, and thrown at with sticks. If the article be hit so as to fall clear of the hole, the thrower takes it.’ (Farmer Slang.)

†4. A street pedlar stationed in a portable stall or box. Obs.

5. A kind of firework.

6. A toy consisting of a box containing a figure with a spring, which leaps up when the lid is raised. Also fig. 

7. Applied to various mechanical contrivances.

So, yes to the game, and used figuratively of people who leap up… but remember that Gandalf’s best-known craft was firework and these dwarves popping up out of the hedge were a little bit of a scam…  It’s not quite a gem word because I’m not weeping… but dang, that man could write!

“Jack-in-the-box | Jack-in-a-box, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/100519. Accessed 14 September 2017.