I wonder if this is the same word in Westron as riddle-game, and therefore we are see the translator (Tolkien) varying his translation of that word a bit.
- 06.019 in the riddle-competition,
The word is not found in OED.
JRRT
Red-stained
- 12.013 and silver red-stained
This word is not found in OED.
Raven-messengers
How delightful that this is a separate word. Perhaps the ravens consider it an office or a duty. Have you ever had the sensation that a raven-messenger was addressing you, finally turning away when it is not understood?
- 17.035 (for the raven-messengers had been busy
What about an OED entry, I hear you ask. Yes indeed:
† raven messenger n. Obs. = corbie messenger n. at corbie n. 2.
a1400 (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 1892 Þat messager, men say, Þat duellis lang in his iornay, He may be cald, wid resun clere, An of the rauyns messagere [a1400 Vesp. messagers corbun; a1400 Trin. Cambr. rauenenes messangere].
so we give it the Archaic tag and follow the proffered rabbit-hole…
Oh, my.
2. corbie messenger n. one who returns too late, or not at all: in allusion to the raven in Gen. viii. 7.
This is a completely separate meaning from the sentient, sapient creatures who carried timely messages between Thorin and Dain. I’m giving it the JRRT tag for a brand-new use of a previously employed word.
“corbie, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/41419. Accessed 19 September 2017.
“raven, n.1 and adj.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/158644. Accessed 19 September 2017.
Raft-steerer
- 10.009 and voices hailed the raft-steerers.
This one is not found in OED.
Raft-elves
- 09.064 and the raft-elves would soon be steering it off
This word is, of course, not found in OED. Tolkien uses it separately from “rafters”
Rabbit-cropped
- 06.040 the patches of rabbit-cropped turf,
This very specific word is not found in OED.
Pony-rides
- 02.036 adventures are not all pony-rides
“Pony ride” may be found in OED, but in . no case is it hyphenated. I’m calling this a JRRT original spelling.
“pony, n.1 and adj.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/147692. Accessed 19 September 2017.
Pine-root
- 06.041 and the pine-roots far below.
This concept does not have its own entry or sub-entry in OED.
One-leg
- 05.053 No-legs lay on one-leg,
This word, with hyphen, space, or none, is not found in OED.
Oak-wood
Note that this is not the wood of an oak, but a woods of oak trees. this concept has its own entry in OED, but it is always two words with a space or one single word, never hyphenated. I am giving this spelling the JRRT tag.
- 07.023 in an oak-wood
- 08.042 a butterfly that loves the tops of oak-woods,
“oak, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/129461. Accessed 19 September 2017.
words that you were saying 