- 12.052 I am the clue-finder,
As with most names and titles in the work, there is no reference in OED, and it is now classed as JRRT original.
hyphen
Clink-clink
Although “clink-clank” is in OED as well as plain old “clink”, making this hyphenated word is a JRRT original.
- 04.040 with a clink-clink of chains,
“clink, n.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 7 September 2017.
“clink-clank, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 7 September 2017.
Cliff-wall
The hyphen is present in OED in the example texts, although it’s listed as a compound word.
- 11.008 in a great cliff-wall
“cliff, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 7 September 2017.
Clay-pipe
It is hyphenated just so in OED.
- 01.068 he sent a smaller smoke-ring from his short clay-pipe
“clay, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 7 September 2017.
Cavern-mouth
Constructed of one uncommon and one common word! This one is not attested in OED as a hyphenated word at all, or even as a compound word. JRRT gets the credit for our purposes.
- 09.004 He did not at all like the look of the cavern-mouth,
Burglar-expert
- 01.117 supposing the burglar-expert
No OED entries for this one, of course, this is pure JRRT!
Breakfast-time
- 13.052 and so I suppose it is more or less breakfast-time –
Tea-time, supper-time, after-supper, breakfast-time – I might need a Hobbit-style clock!
OED gives it with the hyphen in its headword.
“breakfast, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 5 September 2017.
Bowstring
“Bowstring” is approximately the 67,700th most common word in the Gutenberg corpus, “bow-string” is not found in the 100K! Each is used once, and in very different settings. I am intrigued that Bilbo’s word that he thinks of internally to indicate his state of anxiety is not hyphenated, while the name for the tool that Bard used is. Not a Shire word, then, yet expressed as a specialty word that Tolkien (translator) had no word for – different from a bowstring. Perhaps the greater bow of a mighty man had a different sort of string.
OED does give “bowstring” the head word and “bow-string” in the examples.
- 05.127 Bilbo could see or feel that he was tense as a bowstring,
- 14.021 Then Bard drew his bow-string to his ear.
“bow-string | bowstring, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 5 September 2017.
Blood-curdling
Hyphenated in OED just as you see it here.
- 05.130 All at once there came a blood-curdling shriek,
“blood, n. (and int.).” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 5 September 2017.
Blind-man’s-buff
OED gives the first mention of this game in 1600:
1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood iv. 64 At hot-cockles, leape-frogge, or blindman-buffe.
Now I want to know how to play hot-cockles!
- 05.145 Then it was like a horrible game of blind-man’s-buff.
“blind-man’s-buff, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 5 September 2017.
words that you were saying 