an unexpected journey bilbo's riddles

What are the 9 Riddles Gollum Asked Bilbo in The Hobbit?

Hobbit riddles time?

Well, in this set of riddles, we have decided to switch things a little bit and introduce some classical riddles for you.

The riddles are written in the chapter, “Hobbit Riddles in the Dark” of The Hobbit.

It is a mind game and logic tug-of-war between Gollum and Bilbo in which Bilbo wins at the time when he had already given up and had accepted a tie was good for him.

In the order in which they appear in the book and the movie , here are the Lord of the Rings riddles and answers, for you.

What are the riddles that Gollum asked Bilbo in The Hobbit?

The Riddle of the Mountain

What has roots as nobody sees.

Is taller thaN trees,

Up, up it goes,

And, yet never grows?

By Gollum .

Answer: Mountain.

More: 55+ Best Logic Riddles

Hobbit Riddles Teeth

Thirty white horses on a red hill,

First they champ,

Then they stamp,

Then they stand still.

Answer: Teeth.

More: 60+ What is it Riddles with Answers

The Riddle of the Wind

Voiceless it cries,

Wingless flutters,

Toothless bites,

Mouthless mutters.

Answer: Wind.

More: 55+ Best Riddles for Kids in Ranking Order

The Riddle of the Sun on Daisies

An eye in a blue face

Saw an eye in a green face.

“That eye is like to this eye”

Said the first eye,

“But in low place

Not in high place.”

Answer: Sun on the daisies.

More: 100+ Best Riddles with Answers

The Riddle of the Dark

It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,

Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,

It lies behind stars and under hills,

And empty holes it fills,

It comes first and follows after,

Ends life, kills laughter.

Answer: Dark.

More: Good Riddles for Kids and Adults

The Riddle of an Egg

A box without hinges, key, or lid,

Yet golden treasure inside is hid.

Answer: Egg.

More: 69+ Riddles for Adults – the Random, Funny & Easy

The Riddle of the Fish

Alive without breath,

As cold as death

Ever thirsty, never drinking,

Clad in mail, never clinking

Answer: Fish.

The Hobbit Riddles of the Man, Fish and the Cat

No-legs lay on one-leg,

Two-legs sat near on three-legs,

Four-legs got some.

Answer: Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones.

The Riddle of Time

This thing all things devours:

Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;

Gnaws iron, bites steel;

Grinds hard stone to meal;

Slays king, ruins town,

And beats high mountain down.

Answer: Time.

Sneaky Question!

What have I got in my pocket?

Answer: The One ring.

The sneaky question is not a riddle but a monologue by Bilbo.

It, however, played a major role in Bilbo winning the riddles mini-contest that ended up with a delicious meal.

Bilbo, after the riddles sessions, was talking to himself when he accidentally ask the question and when Gollum stepped in to answer and failed to give a precise answer.

It was an opportunity Bilbo never wasted to claim victory for the day.

There you have our compilation of the Hobbit riddles and answers. I hope you had fun!

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All The Hobbit Riddles and Answers Asked by Gollum and Bilbo In Order

By: Author Jessica Suess

Posted on Last updated: November 2, 2023

All The Hobbit Riddles and Answers Asked by Gollum and Bilbo In Order

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In the classic novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins and Gollum engage in a game of riddles in the dark tunnels beneath the Misty Mountains. The stakes are high: if Bilbo wins, Gollum will show him the way out; if Bilbo loses, Gollum will eat him.

There are many reasons why Gollum and Bilbo started asking riddles. For Gollum, it was a way to test Bilbo’s intelligence and cunning. He was also a lonely and paranoid creature, and the riddle game gave him a chance to interact with another being, even if it was just through a game.

For Bilbo, the riddle game was a way to survive. He didn’t want to hurt or kill Gollum, or potentially get killed by him, so he decided to use his intelligence to outsmart him. The riddle game also gave Bilbo a chance to learn more about Gollum and his motivations.

Bilbo’s victory over Gollum in the riddle game was a turning point in the story. It showed that Bilbo was more than just a timid hobbit. He was also clever and resourceful. The riddle game also helped Bilbo to learn more about himself and his own capabilities.

The Hobbit Riddles With Answers

1. Asked by Gollum What has roots as nobody sees, Is taller than trees Up, up, up it goes, And yet never grows?

Answer: Mountain

2. Asked by Bilbo Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still.

Answer: Teeth

3. Asked by Gollum Voiceless it cries, Wingless flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters.

Answer: Wind

4. Asked by Bilbo An eye in a blue face Saw an eye in a green face. ‘That eye is like to this eye’ Said the first eye, ‘But in low place Not in high place.’

Answer: Sun shining on daisies

5. Asked by Gollum It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.

Answer: Dark

6. Asked by Bilbo A box without hinges, key or lid, Yet golden treasure inside is hid.

Answer: Egg

7. Asked by Gollum Alive without breath, As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking

Answer: Fish

8. Asked by Bilbo No-legs lay on one-leg, two legs sat near on three legs, four legs got some.

Answer: Fish on a little one-legged table, man at table sitting on a three-legged stool, the cat gets the bones

9. Asked by Gollum This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down.

Answer: Time

10. Asked by Bilbo What have I got in my pocket?

Answer: The Ring

Below is the scene from The Hobbit movies where Bilbo and Gollum exchange riddles:

Did Bilbo Cheat in the Riddles?

In Middle Earth, the riddle-game holds a revered status, steeped in tradition and regarded as hallowed. Even the most malevolent beings dared not break its rules. Bilbo was aware of this reverence but remained wary of Gollum’s unpredictable nature, doubting his commitment to uphold a promise when pressed.

Notably, Bilbo’s final question, “What have I got in my pocket?”, deviated from the conventional riddle format, making it not truly in line with the age-old riddle norms. However, because he did not intentionally ask the question and accidentally said it out loud, its technically not cheating, as there was no intent.

The narrator in The Hobbit book says:

“He knew, of course, that the riddle-game was sacred and of immense antiquity, and even wicked creatures were afraid to cheat when they played at it. But he felt he could not trust this slimy thing to keep any promise at a pinch. Any excuse would do for him to slide out of it. And after all that last question had not been a genuine riddle according to the ancient laws.”

Also, see the latest news for the new Lord of the Rings movies in development by Warner Bros .

Cliff's Notes
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What is renege , in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra ?
What is maxim ? I think it's a female name but I'm not sure.
Last Valentine's Day, this guy I barely know gave me a rose and said something about ardent love. What does ardent mean?
In Act I, Scene 1, of King Lear, what does benison mean?
What kind of literature is a picaresque novel?
What does culpable mean?
What's a cenotaph ? Every Veterans Day, I hear about the Queen of England laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in London.
What does gallimaufry mean in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ? My vocabulary is pretty good, but that one has me stumped!
What does it mean to genuflect ?
Someone told me I was looking wistful. What is wistful ?
In David Copperfield, what does superannuated mean?
Does the word syllogism have something to do with biology?
I see the word benefactor a lot in my reading assignments. Is that somebody who benefits from something?
I found a funny word in The Glass Castle. Where did skedaddle come from and what does it mean?
Does sinuous mean something like full of sin"? I saw the word in The Devil in the White City ."
In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, what is the meaning of the word propaganda ?
What are characteristics of Modernist literature, fiction in particular?
What does my brother mean when he says he's too ensconced in his studies to look for a girlfriend?
My grandpa complained about a bunch of politicians making what he called chin music . Did he mean they were in a loud band?
What is melodrama?
In Dracula, what's a missal ?
In the terms abject poverty and abject misery, what does abject mean?
In Moby-Dick, what does craven mean?
What does cicatrize mean?
What is a noisome smell" in Tolstoy's War and Peace ?"
What is an apostasy, from the George Bernard Shaw play, Man and Superman ?
In Jane Eyre, what's syncope ?
I just read Dracula. What's the forcemeat in Jonathan Harker's journal?
Can the word stern mean more than one thing?
Where is Yoknapatawpha county?
What does smouch mean?
I'm supposed to write a comparison of Hektor and Achilles from Homer's The Iliad, but I don't know where to start.
How do you pronounce quay ? And what does it mean, anyway?
What are some examples of paradox in the novel Frankenstein ?
In Ivanhoe, what does mammock mean?
What does rummage mean?
Is a mummer some type of religious person?
Some guy I don't like told his friend I was acting all demure. What does that mean?
When I complained about our cafeteria food, my biology teacher told me he wished they'd serve agarics. Was he talking about some kind of dessert?
Where did the name Of Mice and Men come from?
What genre would you consider the book, The Outsiders ?
In Fahrenheit 451, why would a society make being a pedestrian a crime?
What does the phrase, a worn-out man of fashion" mean from Jane Eyre ?"
Is sagacity a medical condition?
My teacher told me I was being obdurate. Was that a compliment?
What motives inspired Iago to plot revenge against Othello?
Who was the first king of Rome?
What does enervate mean?
What is a parvenu ? I saw the word in William Makepeace Thackeray's book Vanity Fair.
Is salubrity somehow related to being famous?
Do capers have something to do with cops?
What's the difference between a soliloquy and a monologue?
In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce uses the word pandybat . What's a pandybat?
Does the word inexorable have something to do with driving demons out of a person?
Do people who prognosticate have some sort of special power?
What is a hegemony, from James Joyce's Ulysses ?
What are fallow fields ? I'm a city gal who heard the term at a 4-H fair and just read it in Anna Karenina.
What's the difference between parody and satire?
Lord of the Flies uses the word inimical. What does it mean?
What does dreadnaught mean, as itâ€™s used in Bleak House?
I saw vertiginous in Madame Bovary. What does mean the word mean?
What does overweening mean, in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes?
Can you hear a dirge anyplace but a funeral?
Does imperturbable refer to something you can't break through?
What are the seven ages of man?
What is a chimera , in Jane Eyre by Charlotte BrontÃ«?
What's dross ?
What is an injunction ?
For school I had to make a Napoleon hat, which called for a cockade. What is that?
If someone studies assiduously, does it mean they're working really hard or really slowly?
Define mood as it relates to a work of fiction. Distinguish mood from effect.
My sister calls me the Princess of Prevarication." What's prevarication ?"
What's turpitude, as in moral turpitude"?"
What's the definition of tenebrous ?
This biography I'm reading about Queen Victoria says that she refused to remove the hatchment she had for her husband Prince Albert. What does that word mean?
What does sine qua non mean?
What's lugubrious mean?
What's impugn mean, from Ivanhoe?
What does postprandial mean?
I love reading fashion magazines and occasionally come across the word atelier. What is that?
What does King Lear mean when he says that ingratitude is a marble-hearted fiend"?"
What is celerity , from Ivanhoe ?
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein , what are disquisitions ?
What's shrive ? My neighbor said she's been unshriven for years, but I think her skin looks quite shriveled.
What's a dobbin ?
What's polemic ? Over winter break, my uncle told me I was polemic and asked if I was on the debate team at school.
I came across a list of homonyms: mu, moo, moue . I know mu is Greek for the letter m , and moo is the sound cows make, but what's a moue ?
What does trow mean?
In Far from the Madding Crowd , what does cavil mean?
What does Charles Dickens mean when he says â€œtoadies and humbugsâ€ in his book, Great Expectations ?
Where can I find the word naught in The Scarlet Letter ?
I found an old diary from the 1800s where the writer describes how he almost died but was saved by a sinapism . What is that?
I know what mulch is, but what's mulct ?
When our teacher was introducing the next reading assignment, he said we'll be using the unexpurgated version. What did he mean?
For some reason, the word dingle sticks in my head after having read Treasure Island years ago. I never did discover what it meant. How about it, Cliff?
In Dracula , what's stertorous breathing?
What does philippic mean?
I'm usually pretty good at guessing what words mean, but have no clue about exigence . What is it?
What's doughty ? How do you pronounce it?
What's sharecropping? I'm kind of embarrassed to ask, because it's one of those words everyone assumes you know what it means.
I'm working on my summer reading list with Kafka's The Trial. The very first sentence uses traduce , and I don't know what that means.
What does the cormorant (bird) symbolize in mythology?
I saw the word badinage in the book Uncle Tom's Cabin . Do you think that's a typo that really should be bandage ?
On a TV modeling contest, a judge said, Her simian walk is unbelievable." Was that a good thing?"
What is the definition of adverbiously , from Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities ?
In Oliver Twist , Dodger refers to Oliver as flash companion . Can't find a definition of this anywhere. What does it mean?
Do elocutionists kill people?
For my English homework, I have to write a love poem. I'm only 13 and I haven't had my first love yet. How would I go about writing about feelings that I haven't felt yet?
Where on the body would I find my sarcophagus ?
What's stolid ? It sounds like someone who's stupid and built solid like a wall.
What's a wonton person?
In which play did William Shakespeare state that misery loves company?
What's comfit ? Is it a different way of saying comfort?
Where did the story Frankenstein by Mary Shelley take place?
What kind of person would a shallow-pate be?
What are myrmidons of Justice" in Great Expectations ?"
Faseeshis â€¦ no clue on the spelling, but I kind of got yelled at in school today for being that. What did I do?
In The Red Badge of Courage , what's an imprecation ?
The word portmanteau shows up in a lot of the literature I read for school assignments. It sounds French. What does it mean?
I did something really stupid yesterday, and my grandfather told me I was hoist with my own petard." What does that mean? And what's a petard ?"
How do you pronounce Cymbeline, one of Shakespeare's early comedies?
What's a bourse ? I read it in my finance class.
In The House of Mirth, what are oubliettes ?
In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, what are thimble-riggers ?
In Wuthering Heights , what's a thible ?
Which Hemingway story references the running of the bulls" in Spain?"
What's a clink? My dad mentioned that his granddad was there for a long time during World War I.
If somebody is toady," does it mean they're ugly?"
Who said all's fair in love and war" and where?"
Why is there so much talk about baseball, especially Joe DiMaggio, in The Old Man and the Sea ?
In the movie Failure to Launch , there's a line that goes, Well, she certainly is yar," in reference to a yacht. What's yar ?"
What does mangle mean in Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities ?
I got detention because a teacher said I was being contumacious . What's that?
What are encomiums?
What are billets in The Three Musketeers ?
In Orwell's 1984 , what is doublethink ?
What are orts ? That's a weird word that reminds me of orcs from The Lord of the Rings .
What are alliteration and assonance?
How is John the Savage's name ironic in Brave New World ?
What's quinsy?
What is a doppelgÃ¤nger?
What is New Historicism?
I found the word unwonted in a book I'm reading. Is that a typo, you think?
In Heart of Darkness , what does cipher mean?
In the play The Glass Menagerie, would you describe Tom as selfish?
What does Kantian mean, from a philosophical perspective?
What's a colonnade ? My girlfriend is freaking me out with stories of her dream wedding where she walks down a colonnade. I know this is the least of my problems, but I'm curious.
My grandma says she knows how I feel when I knit my brows. Is she crazy?
Why is Shakespeare's play titled Julius Caesar , even though he is dead by Act III and plays a relatively small role?
I know bier has something to do with dead people, but what is it exactly?
My brainy brother owns a Harley and says his girlfriend is the pillion . Is he insulting her or just showing off?
I ran across the word mien in a book. Is it a typo?
Is a younker a person or a place?
Does precipitancy have something to do with the weather?
I'm writing a grade 12 comparative essay, and I need a book that I could compare with All Quiet on the Western Front. Any suggestions?
A friend says she suffers from ineffable sadness. What's ineffable ?
What's a scow ?
Is a maelstrom some kind of dangerous weather?
What is the meaning of this saying, The cat will mew and dog will have his day"?"
What is a paradox ?
The Picture of Dorian Gray mentions a panegyric on youth. What does that mean?
In Madame Bovary , what's a mairie?
In The Kite Runner, what's palliative mean?
So what's oligarchy ? In government class, my teacher mentioned that word when we were talking about the Blagojevich scandal in Illinois.
Is intrepidity a good thing or a bad thing?
My grandmother told me that she thinks grandpa should see an alienist. Does she think he's from another planet or what?
Do you have to have licentiousness to get your driver's license?
I ran across the word hardihood in something I read the other day. Is it some kind of clothing?
I saw mention of haversack in my history book. What does that word mean?
I'm guessing the word quadroon is four of something. But what's a roon?
I'm trying to understand Shakespeare's play, King Lear . Can you explain these quotes from Act 1, Scene 1?
In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment , what's a samovar ?
I came across a music channel that featured tejano," and then I saw the same word when I was reading Bless Me, Ultima. What does it mean?"
In The Awakening , there's a term prunella gaiter." I'm guessing that gaiters are a type of covering for your legs, like the gaiters I use on my ski boots to keep snow out. But what the heck is prunella? Is it a purplish color like prunes?"
What's sedulous mean?
In Chapter 2 of Jane Eyre , what are divers parchments ?
A friend of mine said she hopes to get a counterpane for Christmas. What's that?
In Wuthering Heights, what does munificent mean?
The other day, my dad called my friends a motley crew. Is that his way of saying I should hang out with a different crowd?
Why is there an authorship problem with Shakespeare?
What is it called when something is out of place in time, like a jet stream in a movie about ancient Rome?
In 1984 , does Winston die from a bullet at the end of the book or is he in a dream-state?
I saw some old guy in a soldier's uniform selling fake red flowers. He said it was for Veterans Day. What's the connection?
I was kind of flirting with this really cute boy when my teacher told me to stop palavering. Did she want me to stop flirting or stop talking?
My grandmother says when she was a kid in China, she became Catholic because of the Mary Knows nuns. I tried to look that up on the Internet but couldn't find anything. Can you help?
In The Count of Monte Cristo , does cupidity mean love? I'm guessing that because of, you know, Cupid . . . Valentine's Day.
My theater teacher called me a name the other day. I don't think it was supposed to be a compliment. What's a somnambulist, anyway?
Why was Tartuffe such a jerk?
To Kill a Mockingbird has this word fey in it, but I don't know what it means. Does it mean short lived or fleeting?
In Pride and Prejudice , what's probity" &mdash
I never met my grandma, who my mom says lives in a hovel and wants her to move in with us. Then I saw that word in Frankenstein . What's a hovel? I thought it was like a place that had room service.
I have a friend who said something about phantasmagoric. That's not real, is it?
Which of the following literary devices is used in these poetic lines by John Milton?
In Faulkner's A Rose for Emily," what does noblesse oblige mean?"
What is love?
What is suggested by the coin image in Book II of A Tale of Two Cities ?
Why does Satan rebel against God?
I'm reading Candide, by Voltaire, and one of the dudes is an Anabaptist. What's that?
What does the poem Summer Sun" by Robert Louis Stevenson really mean?"
What did Shakespeare want to say about his beloved in Sonnet 18?
In Romeo and Juliet , who was the last person to see Juliet alive?
What is the Catechism?
What is the overall meaning of the poem Before The Sun," by Charles Mungoshi?"
What does ague mean?
Is there a reference to venereal disease in Romeo and Juliet ?
What is fantasy fiction?
What is the exposition in Othello ?
Who is the character Susan in Romeo and Juliet ?
What is a found poem?
What did Alice Walker mean in the essay Beauty"?"
Why did Dr. Frankenstein create his monster?
What is the name of the surgeon and the English ship he's on in Moby-Dick ?
What are the differences between an epic hero and a Romantic hero?
In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, does Gail Wynand commit suicide or only close The Banner at the end of the novel? I'm in a literary dispute over this!
What did W.E.B. Du Bois mean when he wrote of second-sight?
What is nihilism, and what should I read to get a better understanding of it?
What is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic?
What are intelligent design and creationism and how are they related?
What is misanthropy ?
I would like to understand the poem Blight" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Please help."
Can you explain the significance of the question, Which came first, the chicken or the egg?""
In Little Lost Robot," by Isaac Asimov, why have some robots been impressioned with only part of the First Law of Robotics?"
Can you explain Cartesian Dualism and how Descartes' philosophical endeavors led him to dualism?
When reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice , what does entailment mean?
What does ignominy mean? (From Shelley's Frankenstein )
What does pecuniary mean? (From Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities )
How do I analyze Kant's philosophy?
What is an apostrophe in Macbeth ?
Is music a language?
Why should literature be studied?
In the book The Scarlet Letter , what is a vigil ?
The first week of school isn't even over yet and I'm already in trouble â€” I forgot my textbook at school and can't do my homework! What should I do now?!
What are the renaissance features/characteristics in Hamlet ?
What is the exact quote in Hamlet about something being wrong in Denmark? Something smells? Something is amiss?
What does Utilitarianism mean, from a philosophical perspective?
What was the form of English that Shakespeare used?
At the beginning of Act V, Scene 2 of Much Ado About Nothing, does Shakespeare insinuate that anything is going on between Margaret and Benedick?
What was the "final solution" in the book Night by Elie Wiesel?
With the many novels out there, is there a database of some sort that can narrow down your choices to a specific book of interest for pleasure reading? And if not, why hasn't there been?
How do you pronounce Houyhnhnms ? (From Swift's Gulliver's Travels )
I just took the quiz on The Great Gatsby on this site. How can Jordan Baker be described as a professional golfer? To my knowledge, the LPGA did not form until the mid-1950s. Shouldn't she be referred to as an amateur golfer instead?
What are the humanities?
If Father, Son, and Holy Ghost aren't names, what is God's name?
What classic novels take place in Florida?
In which Hemingway short story is the saying, "Children's shoes for sale"?
Who is the "lady" that Robert Plant speaks of in the song "Stairway to Heaven"?
Was Odysseus the one who planned the Trojan horse, in the Trojan War?
How do I get my smart-but-hates-to-read son interested in reading?
Poetry gives me problems. How can I figure out what poems are about?
How do you analyze a novel?
What does it mean to ululate ? (From Golding's Lord of the Flies )
Is ambrosia a salad? (From Homer's The Odyssey )
What is a harbinger ? (From Shakespeare's Macbeth )
What does it mean to be refractory ? (From Dickens' Great Expectations )
What is a querulous kid? (From Wharton's Ethan Frome )
What does the word runagate mean? (From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet )
What is the word, imprimis ? (From Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew )
What does the word alchemy mean? (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter )
What is an estuary ? (From Conrad's Heart of Darkness )
What or who is a scullion ? (From Shakespeare's Hamlet )
What is a schism ? (From Swift's Gulliver's Travels )
What does it mean to be salubrious ? (From Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights )
What is a replication ? (From Shakespeare's Hamlet )
What is vicissitude ? (From Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables )
Can you define indolent ? (From Wharton's House of Mirth )
What does the word replete mean? (From Shakespeare's Henry V )
What are orisons ? (From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet )
What does it mean to be ephemeral ?
What does it mean to be placid ? (From Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre )
What is a paroxysm ? (From Stoker's Dracula )
My English teacher got really mad when I said I was nauseous . Why?
What does it mean to be farinaceous ? (From Tolstoy's Anna Karenina )
What does dejection mean? (From Shelley's Frankenstein )
What is animadversion ? (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter )
What does it mean to be timorous ? (From Shakespeare's Othello )
Someone called me erudite . Is that good?
What is a mountebank ? (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter )
What does incarnadine mean? (From Shakespeare's Macbeth )
What does it mean to be puissant? (From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar)
What is a purloiner? (From Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities)
What does it mean to be affable ? (From Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment )
What does it mean to be ostensible ? (From Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court )
What does compunction mean? (From Dickens's Bleak House )
What is behoveful ? (From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet )
What is a precentor ? (From Golding's Lord of the Flies )
What does it mean to be loquacious ? (From Cervantes's Don Quixote )
What does imprudence mean? (From Ibsen's A Doll's House )
What is a conflagration ? (From Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde )
What does it mean to be spurious ? (From James' Daisy Miller )
What is a retinue ? (From Swift's Gulliver's Travels )
What does the word forsworn mean? (From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet )
What does the word hauteur mean? (From Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby )
What are vituperations ? (From Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl )
What are ostents ? (From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice )
What is a sockdolager ? (From Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn )
What does insuperable mean? (From Shelley's Frankenstein )
What is calumny ? (From Shakespeare's Hamlet )
What is an augury ? (From Sophocles' Antigone )
What does squally mean? (From Dickens' Great Expectations )
What does corporal mean? (From Shakespeare's Macbeth )
What does it mean to be plausible ? (From Sinclair's The Jungle )
What is a dearth ? (From Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre )
What does it mean to vacillate ? (From Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest )
What does it mean to obtrude someone? (From Dickens's Great Expectations )
What is a heterodox ? (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter )
What is felicity ? (From Austen's Emma )
What does it mean to be effacing ? (From Adams's The Education of Henry Adams )
What is a repast ? (From Chan Tsao's Dream of the Red Chamber )
What does insouciance mean? (From Sinclair's The Jungle )
What is a soliloquy ? (From Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn )
I was reading The Iliad and there's this word in it: greaves . What's that?
What does the word prodigality mean? (From Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby )
Is there an easy way to understand The Canterbury Tales ?
What does the scarlet letter symbolize?
What is the significance of Grendel's cave in Beowulf ?
How did Hawthorne show that Hester Prynne was a strong woman in The Scarlet Letter ?
What purpose do the three witches serve at the beginning of Macbeth ?
What can you tell me about Grendel from Beowulf ?
What figurative language does Stephen Crane use in The Red Badge of Courage ?
Why is Roger so mean in Lord of the Flies ?
How do Gene and Finny mirror each other in A Separate Peace ?
The old man and the young wife — what's up with story plots like this?
What part does vengeance play in The Odyssey ?
What kind of a woman is Penelope in The Odyssey ?
Do fate and fortune guide the actions in Macbeth ?
How does Frankenstein relate to Paradise Lost ?
How has the way people view Othello changed over time?
How does Henry change throughout The Red Badge of Courage ?
What's so great about Gatsby?
How is To Kill a Mockingbird a coming-of-age story?
Why did Ophelia commit suicide in Hamlet ?
What is the setting of The Scarlet Letter ?
What is a slave narrative?
What's an anachronism ?
Doesn't Raskolnikov contradict himself in Crime and Punishment ?
What is the main theme of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ?
What does Shakespeare mean by memento mori ?
What are inductive and deductive arguments?
How does Alice Walker break the rules" of literature with The Color Purple ?"
What role does Friar Laurence play in Romeo and Juliet ?
Why did Elie Wiesel call his autobiography Night ?
How does Shakespeare play with gender roles in Macbeth ?
Where did Dickens get the idea to write A Tale of Two Cities ?
What's the purpose of the preface to The Scarlet Letter ?
What role do women play in A Tale of Two Cities ?
Who are the heroes and villains in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
What are the ides of March?
Was Kate really a shrew in The Taming of the Shrew ?
What role does innocence play in The Catcher in the Rye ?
How are Tom and Huck different from each other in Huckleberry Finn ?
What is blank verse and how does Shakespeare use it?
How do the book and film versions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest differ?
What is a satirical novel?
What is the role of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 ?
How can I keep myself on track to get through my summer reading list?
How does Jim fit into the overall theme of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ?
What is a major theme of The Great Gatsby ?
How does Shakespeare use light and darkness in Romeo and Juliet ?
Who is the narrator in Faulkner's A Rose for Emily"?"
In Lord of the Flies , what statement is William Golding making about evil?
How is The Catcher in the Rye different from other coming-of-age novels?
How does Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird show two sides?
Was there supposed to be a nuclear war in The Handmaid's Tale ? I couldn't tell.
What is experimental theater"?"
Does Jonas die at the end of The Giver ?
What is an inciting incident, and how do I find one in Lord of the Flies ?
How does King Arthur die?
In Julius Caesar , what does this mean: Cowards die many times before their deaths
How do you write a paper on comparing a movie with the book?
Please explain this Kipling quote: Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.""
What is a tragic flaw?
What is a motif, and how can I find them in Macbeth ?
Why didn't Socrates write any books? After all, he was supposed to be so intelligent and wise.
Why are there blanks in place of people's names and places in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice ?
Was Othello a king? A prince? He's referred to as My Lord" but I'm not sure of his actual title."
I need to download some pictures of Juliet. Where would I find these?
Why does Odysseus decide to listen to the Sirens, in The Odyssey , by Homer?
What does prose and poetry mean? What's the difference?
In The Scarlet Letter, why is the scaffold important and how does it change over the course of the novel?
Why does the legend of King Arthur hold such a powerful grip over us?
Do you like to read books?
What are the metrical features in poetry?
Can you tell me what these two quotes from Much Ado About Nothing mean?
What is connotation, and how do you find it in a poem?
What is a dramatic monologue?
What is formal fallacy?
In the movie Dead Poets Society, what are some themes and values that are relevant to Transcendentalism. What is Transcendentalism?
Why didn't Mina Harker realize she was under Dracula's spell when she witnessed her friend fall prey to him, too? Wasn't it obvious?
In The Three Musketeers by Dumas, Cardinal Richelieu is labeled as the villain. How could he be presented as a hero instead?
In Romeo and Juliet , what are the different types of irony used? Um, what's irony?
What is the main theme in Fahrenheit 451 ?
In Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities , what fact in Book the Second: Chapters 1-6, confirms Darnay's release?
Why is Invisible Man considered a bildungsroman?
In A Doll's House , what risqué item does Nora reveal to Dr. Rank that eventually prompts him to disclose his own secret?
What is a definition of short story?
What percentage of people are considered geniuses?
How do I write and publish my own novel?
Do I use the past or present tense to answer this question: What is this poem about?" "
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Deciding Whether to Go for Your MBA
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Appropriate Attire: Defining Business Casual
Famous Americans Who Started Out in the Military
The Benefits of Joining a Professional Organization
Five Job Interview Mistakes
Getting Good References for Your Job Hunt
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Make the Most of Days between Jobs
Military Career Opportunity: Translators and Interpreters
Network Your Way into a Job
Prepare for a Job Interview
Preparing for Job Interview Questions
Putting Your English Degree to Work
Putting Your Education Degree to Work
Take Advantage of Job and Career Fairs
Tips for a Better Resume
Understand Negotiable Elements of a Job Offer
Visit the College Career Office
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Write a Thank You Note after an Interview
Writing a Follow-Up Letter after Submitting Your Resume
Your Military Career: Basics of Officer Candidate School
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Know What to Expect in Graduate School
Paying for Graduate School
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Tackle the Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
What Does School Accreditation Mean?
Writing Essays for Your Business School Application
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Basic Requirements for Grad School
Choose a Graduate School
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English Majors: Selecting a Graduate School or Program
Getting Letters of Recommendation for Your Business School Application
Graduate School Application: Tips, Advice, and Warnings
Graduate School: Applying as a Returning Student
How to Find a Mentor for Graduate School
How to Prepare for Grad School as an Undergrad
How Work Experience Affects Your MBA Application
Master's Degree in Biology: Choosing a Grad School
In what countries does Toyota produce and market cars?
How would you use the PDSA cycle in your personal life?
I am confused about adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing negative numbers.
Who are some famous female mathematicians?
Given the set of numbers [7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42], find a subset of these numbers that sums to 100.
The speed limit on a certain part of the highway is 65 miles per hour. What is this in feet per minute?
What is the sum of the angles of an octagon?
In math, what does reciprocal mean?
How many grams in an ounce?
A number is 20 less than its square. Find all answers.
How much is 1,000 thousands?
How do I find the angles of an isosceles triangle whose two base angles are equal and whose third angle is 10 less than three times a base angle?
Explain with words and an example how any number raised to the zero power is 1?
If I had 550 coins in a machine worth $456.25, what would be the denomination of each coin?
What three consecutive numbers add up to 417?
How many 100,000,000s in 50 billion?
Of 100 students asked if they like rock and roll or country music, 7 said they like neither, 90 said they like rock and roll, and 57 said they like country music. How many students like both?
What's the formula to convert square feet into square meters?
In math, what is the definition of order of operations?
What's the difference between digital and analog?
What is the square root of 523,457?
What are all of the prime numbers?
Our teacher told us to look for clues in math word problems. What did she mean?
How do I figure out math word problems (without going crazy)?
What good is geometry going to do me after I get out of school?
I keep forgetting how to add fractions. Can you remind me?
My teacher talks about the Greatest Common Factor. What's so great about it?
Got any tips on finding percentages of a number?
What does associative property mean when youâ€™re talking about adding numbers?
How do I use domain and range in functions?
How do I change percents to decimals and fractions? How about decimals and fractions to percents?
What should I do if my teacher wants me to solve an inequality on a number line?
What is a fast and easy way to work word problems?
How do you combine numbers and symbols in an algebraic equation?
How do I go about rounding off a number?
What is the First Derivative Test for Local Extrema?
Can you describe a prism for me?
How can I double-check my answers to math equations?
How do you factor a binomial?
I get the words mean , mode , median , and range mixed up in math. What do they all mean?
How do you combine like terms in algebra?
Can you make it easier for me to understand what makes a number a prime number?
Explain probability to me (and how about some examples)?
Solving story problems is, well, a problem for me. Can you help?
What's inferential statistics all about?
Finding percentages confuses me. Do you have any tips to make it simpler?
What's a quadratic equation, and how do I solve one?
How do you figure out probability?
How do you add integers?
How do you use factoring in quadratic equations?
What are limits in calculus?
I've looked everywhere to find the meaning of this word and I can't find it. What's the definition of tesseract ?
In geometry, how do you get the perimeters of a square and a rectangle?
What is the absolute value of a negative number?
A rectangle swimming pool is 24m longer than it is wide and is surrounded by a deck 3m wide. Find the area of the pool if the area of the deck is 324m 2 . Where do I even start to solve this problem?
How do you classify numbers, as in rational numbers, integers, whole numbers, natural numbers, and irrational numbers? I am mostly stuck on classifying fractions.
How do you convert a fraction to a decimal or change a decimal to a fraction?
I am trying to find all solutions to this algebra (factoring) problem, x 3 – 3x 2 – x + 3 = 0, and I keep getting the wrong answer. Please help!
Sometimes when I'm doing my pre-calculus homework I need help on some of the problems. Do you know where I can find help on the weekends or whenever?
How do you convert metric measurements?
I'm curious about converting Celsius to Fahrenheit, or Fahrenheit to Celsius. How do I convert from one to the other?
In basic math, the fraction bar shows division. So why does this equation show multiplication instead of division? 9/9 = 1 because 1 x 9 = 9.
I'm taking geometry and I'm having problem with the angles and the degree. Is there a way you can help me out?
The perimeter of a rectangle is 66m. The width is 9m less than the length. What is the length and width of the rectangle?
How many dollars are in 5,000 pesos?
How many ounces in a pound?
I'm having a hard time remembering percent of change. All I have is P (percent) = amount of change over original amount. Is there a better way of understanding it?
How do I figure out tangrams?
What are quadrilaterals?
What is the least common multiple of 8, 6, and 12?
How do you convert decimals to fractions?
How did the planet" Pluto get its name? I know it's named after the mythical god of the underworld, but why?"
What is the difference between the earth's core and its crust?
What does gender really mean?
What does plum pudding have to do with physics?
What is the functionalist perspective in sociology?
What does pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis mean?
Why aren't viruses considered living things?
Why does your breathing rate increase when you exercise?
Everyone says you shouldn't clean your ears with cotton swabs because you could break an eardrum. But if you do break your eardrum, will it grow back?
What is a mole?
How, and why, is body fat stored?
Where on the body do you find ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium?
Since she was only married for 72 days, does Kim Kardashian have to give back her wedding gifts?
In the United States, how can you get buried at sea?
What exactly is Salvia divinorum , and is it legal?
What is the composition and volume of whole blood?
Should I refer to a widow as Mrs., Miss, or Ms.?
Is it possible to catch more than one cold at a time?
Why does the Earth have more gravitational force than the moon or some other planet?
Did humans evolve from monkeys or apes?
What is the largest organ in the human body?
How did we end up with both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales?
What is absolute zero?
What is cell theory?
How come when humans flatulate, it smells bad?
How do I convert mL into µL, and vice versa?
What is the most abundant element in the earth's crust?
Is global warming man-made?
What exactly is wind? And why does it blow?
This sounds really disgusting, but I'm curious: Can humans drink animal blood, or any other kind of blood?
Why is space exploration important?
How is photosynthesis essential to life on earth?
What is the highest mountain in New Mexico?
What's the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist?
Who are the unbelievers" referred to in The Koran? What is it that they do not believe?"
What is the difference between Sunnis and Shi'ites?
What happens when you die?
Why is it important to memorize where the 50 states are on a map?
What kind of endangered species are there? Can you give me some examples, please?
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open, so when you drive a car, is it against the law to sneeze?
What are tectonic plates?
I have boy trouble. I want to ask out my friend, but I am not sure he is going to say yes. Plus, he said he had a girlfriend when we talked during school. Plus, my parents don't want me to date.
Why is the sky blue?
Do you really shrink at the end of the day and then grow in the morning?
What is the difference between matter" and "mass"?"
What does "nature versus nurture" mean?
What are closed contour lines?
What is homeostasis ?
What does the periodic table look like?
Do you know anything about the law of conservation of energy? Is it really a law?
I thought I knew what work means, but my physics teacher defines it differently. What's up with that?
How do plants know when to drop their leaves?
What's the surface of the moon like?
How does the number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom differentiate it from another atom?
How do big rocks wear down over time?
What does genetic recombination mean?
How has DNA matching really made big difference in finding out who committed a crime?
What's the difference between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems?
What is incomplete dominance?
Can hydrocarbons be considered compounds?
Can you explain what molar mass is?
Aren't fungi really plants?
What information is contained in a chemical equation?
What are the endocrine and exocrine systems?
How do electrical charges interact?
Are there more than three kingdoms of life? I can never remember.
What are the characteristics of electrically charged objects?
How does anomie theory explain deviant behavior?
Why would anybody think there might be life on another planet?
What are chemical solutions?
Do you know of any way to simplify the overall subject of biochemical genetics?
Can a loud noise really shatter glass?
How do magnetic fields work?
Did Clarence Darrow really call an animal in to testify at the famous monkey trial?
What role does the thyroid gland play in the human body?
What did Mendel discover about heredity when he was playing around with plants?
How many laws of motion did Newton come up with, and what are they?
What in the world is constructive and destructive interference?
How do viruses do their dirty work?
What do bones do, except give us a skeletal structure?
Do all viruses look alike?
My teacher keeps talking about solubility. What does that mean, anyway?
How do positive and negative reinforcement work?
How does nondisjunction relate to birth defects?
With all the germs in the world today, how come everybody's not sick all the time?
What is thermal equilibrium?
How are sound waves created?
What do taste buds look like — up-close?
How often does an eclipse happen?
What is the chemical composition of saltwater?
I was told to write a 15-sentence answer to this question: When in life do you learn to expect the unexpected? I don't really know of an answer. Can you help me figure it out?
My school is having a blood drive and I am considering donating blood. Can you tell me more about the whole process and if it is painful?
Where can I download music for free? And if I do, is it illegal?
How do I convince my parents to give me ten bucks?
How should I deal with being a perfectionist?
How do I convince my little brother and sisters to stay out of my room?
Can you eat a rooster?
How do I work out a problem with a teacher who loses the assignments I turn in and then accuses me of not doing the homework?
Could a Tyrannosaurus rex kill King Kong?
How would you describe a rainbow to a person who has been blind their ENTIRE life and doesn't understand colors?
Will a tattoo inhibit hair growth?
When did gays come about?
I was wondering if the tilt on the earth's axis is important to animal life on earth. Could you explain?
What are the four types of tissue found in the human body?
Is there any easy" way to understand the Krebs Cycle?"
Why are prostaglandins sometimes called tissue hormones?
What is cell death? And what is the difference between apoptosis and necrosis?
How do I find the molar mass of the elements on the periodic table?
What do the symbols on the Periodic Table mean? For example, Gold-Au, Silver-Ag, Lead-Pb, Potassium-K, Tin-Sn, Iron-Fe, and Mercury-Hg, where did these symbols come from?
How is your mind connected to your dreams? Does this have anything to do with psychology?
What are the three main functions of the skeletal system?
What are the characteristics of a moneran, protist, and fungus?
Why does a placebo work? And who does it work for?
What are two properties of metals, nonmetals, and metalloids?
What is lymph? Is it part of the circulatory system in our bodies?
Can there be life on Mars?
How much of the ozone layer is left?
Is it possible for a marine mammal to be infected with rabies?
What exactly does the RNA do?
What is the sperm travel process?
What is a bacterial colony?
Dealing with the myth of Cinderella, written by the Grimm brothers, how could you analyze it in terms of archetypes that Carl Jung used?
What exactly is blood clotting and what are the processes involved?
What is the difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission?
Does a person have to have the same blood type as his or her brothers and sisters?
My teacher said that eating poisonous mushrooms can make you sick or even kill you, but that they're not the only fungus that can. What is she talking about?
What is the chemical equation for orange juice?
What kind of structures are opposable toes?
What is an oral groove?
Dogs are spayed, but humans have hysterectomies. Isn't it all the same surgery?
What does the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) do?
What is the angle formed by a horizontal line and a line of sight to a point below?
After I take the ASVAB, what is my obligation to the military?
If I choose to take the computerized version of the GRE, will I be typing or writing my analytical and issue essays?
Are there any MBA programs that don't require the GMAT?
Can you use a calculator on the GMAT? What are you allowed to take in with you to the test?
Should I keep taking the GMAT until I get a good score?
How is the ASVAB scored?
I canceled my GMAT score right after I took the test. Now I'm wondering if I did the right thing.
What is the ASVAB AFQT?
Where can I take the ASVAB?
Is it better to guess on GMAT answers or would that count against me?
How is my GMAT score used by grad schools?
Is it true that the writing assessment sections of the GMAT are graded by a computer?
What kinds of scores are reported on the GRE, and how long will it take for me to get my scores?
What do I need to bring with me to the GRE testing center?
How are GRE scores used?
How do I learn stuff for in-class exams?
How do I get ready for a math test?
Can I take a calculator to my ACT exam?
Do you have any tips for doing well on the AP Chemistry test?
What can I expect in the math part of the SAT?
How can I prepare for the SAT essay?
What is the Critical Reasoning section of the SAT like?
Is there a fun way to learn SAT vocabulary?
What books should I read for the AP English Literature exam?
How can I make sure I finish the AP essay question in time?
Since I made the soccer team, I don't feel like I have enough time to study. Do you have any study tips so I can use my time better and make sure I don't get kicked off the team for my grades?
I'm a huge procrastinator. How can I manage my time effectively to catch up on my assignments?
What kind or amount of note-taking is optimal? I get lost while making a notation and miss other parts of the lecture.
I study so hard for my tests that I know I know the material, but then I always panic and bomb. How can I reduce my test anxiety?
I do really bad on quizzes. I'm okay with tests and homework, but I do horribly on quizzes. What can I do to prepare for quizzes?
I've screwed up horribly this semester. I always say I'm going to change my habits, but I always end up getting lazy and doing something else. I want to succeed, but how can I get rid of my own laziness?
If you have any music or audio notes playing on tape, CD, or whatever and you fall asleep, is it true that you'll have whatever was played memorized by the time you wake up?
I have trouble understanding a book when I read. I try to read so that I can finish the book quickly but still understand what's going on. Could you give me a few tips on how to understand a book while reading at a quick pace?
What is the best study method when trying to cram three chapters all at once?
What if I have a really bad memory? When I read a page of a book, I can't go back and remember it.
Why do some teachers say light a peppermint candle? I mean, I don't think it helps you concentrate.
I really suck at taking multiple choice tests. Do you have any suggestions for not psyching myself out before a big test?
Is there a WRONG way to study?
Are the math questions on the GMAT extremely difficult and complex?
Does it matter whether I take the SAT or ACT in my junior year or my senior year of high school?
What does AP mean?
How can I explain to my friend what I mean when I call him tedious ?
Does the word privations has something to do with the government?
What's the difference between goulash and galoshes?
What exactly is a parallel structure?
I have a bet on this: Learnt is a real word, right?
Is a boor somebody who boos or somebody who bores?
Somebody in my drama club used the word ostentation the other day. What does that mean, anyway?
Define paraphrasing.
What's another word that means the same thing as malevolence ?
I find the same typo in a lot of books I read. Shouldn't connexion be connection ?
What do you call a word that only ever appears as a plural?
What s the difference between like and such as
Can you show an easy way to remember when to use I" or "me" in a sentence? (And please skip the technical grammar rules.)"
Should I say, â€œCan I have a banana?â€ or â€œMay I have a banana?â€
Is the proper capitalization Atlantic ocean or Atlantic Ocean ?
What does the word supercilious mean?
Is grippe something that makes you sick?
Does the word elucidation have something to do with drugs?
How would you use fervid and fervent in a sentence?
How can someone become a good writer?
How do you cite CliffsNotes in APA, MLA, and CMS styles?
What period in history does histrionics cover?
People used to die from consumption. Does that mean they ate too much?
Is it ever okay to start a sentence with the word but?
What is the longest word in the English language?
I'm learning English now, so I gave myself an English name â€” Vivi." However, an American told me that "Vivi" is not suitable for a name. There are some local reasons. So I want to know if "Vivi" really can't be used as a name."
When writing a paper, what do I do to the title of a book? Do I underline it or italicize it?
Please look at this sentence: Both Peter and John like soccer. Should it be: Both Peter and John likes soccer.
What are the four genders of noun?
What is it called when a word is the same both forward and backward?
Do swans really sing when they die
What does indignation mean?
What is a pundit ?
What is a cleft sentence
What is the difference between narration and first person?
Is it grammatically correct to say take some shots"?"
My teacher thinks I plagiarized an essay; what should I tell him?
Why do some authors use the word an before all words that start with an H? Is this form of writing correct?
My school newspaper claimed that I am. is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. Isn't Go. a complete sentence?
How did people make up the lb. abbreviation for pounds?
Which is correct: "if I was" or "if I were"? And why?
How would you use the word antecede in a sentence?
Could you please explain the difference between affect and effect ?
How do I write a good thesis statement?
What do people mean when they talk about information in the public domain?
What's the big deal about plagiarism, anyway?
Is there a difference between envy and jealousy ?
Can you define the words prostate and prostrate ?
What does it mean to be threadbare ?
Is there a difference between the words ignorant and stupid ?
I used the word reoccur in a paper and my teacher said it should have been recur . Can you tell me the difference?
What does it mean to be flabbergasted ?
When should I write the word lose and when should I write loose ?
What does ad infinitum mean? (From Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre )
Do loath and loathe have different meanings?
I got marked down on a paper for using the word irregardless . Why?
What does it mean to be fastidious ? (From Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo )
Do stationary and stationery mean the same thing?
How is the word among different than the word between ?
What is a hierarchy ?
What is the difference between tortuous and torturous ?
Can you help me understand the difference between the words censor and censure ?
I get farther and further confused. Can you help?
I can t keep principal and principle clear Can you help
My teacher lowered my grade on a paper because I described a scene as grizzly . I thought that was a word.
Are the words gamut and gauntlet interchangeable?
When do I write some time instead of sometime and sometimes ?
Can you help me figure out when to use the word lay instead of lie ?
Can you tell me when to use faze instead of phase ?
What is the difference between avenge and revenge ?
What is the difference between the words precede and proceed ?
How do I fix a run-on sentence?
How useful are automatic spell-checkers?
Is it okay to begin a sentence with and ?
When is it okay to use sentence fragments?
What is future perfect tense?
Is it okay to split infinitives?
Why do people often confuse than and then in writing?
When do I use commas with clauses?
How do I decide which type of pronoun to use when I have multiple pronouns?
What types of words or phrases should I avoid in my writing?
What is parallel structure in writing?
When should I use apostrophe-S?
What is a clause?
I have to write an essay, and I'm having a hard time getting started. Do you have any tips?
How can I make the most out of my first draft?
What should I avoid when writing the conclusion of a research paper?
Are can and may interchangeable?
What is passive voice?
What does it mean to be quixotic ?
What are linking verbs?
What does it mean to use redundant adverbs?
How do I organize a comparison essay?
How do I decide between who and whom ?
How do you use possessives in front of gerunds?
Can I end a sentence with a preposition?
How do I decide on the scope of my essay?
What are participles?
What's the difference between will and shall ?
Which adjectives can't be modified with more and most ?
What are indirect objects?
Should I use his , his or her , or their ?
What's the difference between farther and further ?
What is a storyboard?
What exactly is a theme of a story, and how can I recognize it?
Why is English class called English in school? English is a language, so I don't think it should be a class. Please help me understand.
What is tone exactly and how do you find it in stories?
Where do you start when writing a character analysis?
What is a dynamic character? What is a static character? How are they different?
What's the difference between description and narration?
I don't get onomatopoeias! It's as hard to spell as it is to understand!
What is a gothic tale?
What is the author's style" of a book?"
What is a one-word sentence called?
What word class would the word Novembery fit in to?
My instructor wrote on my paper to be careful about using passive voice. What does that mean?
Is it grammatically correct to say, She went missing"? What is the rule?"
I need information on the social roles of language. How are individuals judged based on their use of language?
What is the origin of the word promotion ?
What's a preposition?
What are some examples of homographic terms?
I have to write an essay for my AP world history class and my teacher said to use direct comparison, but I'm confused on what he means by that. Please Help!
I'm reading The Scarlet Letter in my Honors AP English class and my teacher wants us to do a 5 paragraph essay. What's the best way to start the introduction?
What are some examples of transitions that I can use in my writing assignment?
What does APA stand for?
In typing a term paper, what is the proper spacing after a period? I think I've read that one space is now acceptable.
What is meant by argue your own thesis?
How do I write an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph?
What are easy ways to identify figurative language?
When writing a persuasive essay, what words can take place of being verbs," such as is, are, has, be, were, and was? My teacher crossed all of those out of my paper? What words should I use to replace those?"
I have to write a dialogue that might take place between the speakers of The World Is Not a Pleasant Place to Be" and "Where Have You Gone." What exactly is a dialogue?"
What is the literary device of writing exactly as a character speaks, even if words are misspelled and the grammar is non-standard?
What are the types of tones/attitudes in writing?
What are the first-person, second-person, and third-person points of view? Which is used for formal essays?
What is a good sentence for the word plinth ?
What are footnotes and endnotes? How do I start off a title page?
Why can't you be rude or sarcastic in your thesis statement?
How do you write a paper, when the topic is yourself? How do you research that kind of thing?
What would a raging river be like?

In The Hobbit , Bilbo and Gollum test their wits. If Bilbo wins, then Gollum has to show him the way out of a tunnel; if Bilbo loses, he becomes Gollum's dinner. Yum.

Can you guess the answers to Gollum's riddles?

Riddle 1: What has roots as nobody sees, Is taller than trees, Up, up it goes, And yet never grows? Riddle 2: Voiceless it cries, Wingless flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters. Riddle 3: It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. It comes out first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter. Riddle 4: Alive without breath, As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking. Riddle 5: This thing all things devours; Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats mountain down. Answers: (1) mountain, (2) wind, (3) dark, (4) fish, (5) time

Obviously, Bilbo wins and Gollum misses out on a delicious meal — otherwise, we wouldn't have The Lord of the Rings trilogy. What was Bilbo's winning question? What have I got in my pocket? Sneaky question! Bilbo had the Ring in his pocket.

Looking for something?

All ten riddles from the hobbit: an unexpected journey + answers, fish on a table, man on a stool, cat gets the scraps, the one ring.

Thanks for bringing back my memories... loved it...

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J.R.R. Tolkien

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The Hobbit: How Bilbo and Gollum's Riddles Were Inspired By Norse Mythology

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are full of inspiration from Norse mythology, and a conversation between Bilbo and Gollum is a prime example.

Author J.R.R. Tolkien loved mythologies, so much so that he treated Middle-earth as a mythology of his own. Many real-world myths served as an inspiration throughout his works, especially The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . And a prime example is when Bilbo and Gollum play a game of riddles in the Goblin Tunnels, as the moment relates closely to an old Norse tale.

The Hobbit is chock-full of Norse inspiration. The Elves and Dwarves resemble their Norse counterparts, and every Dwarf name can be found throughout the mythology. Even Gandalf is influenced by it , with the character appearing like Odin, who was described as a wanderer with a long white beard, broad hat and spear. But beyond characters and names, the story is also related to Norse mythology.

RELATED: Early Hobbit Concept Art Depicted Smaug as a God of War-Like Monster

When Bilbo is separated and lost under the Misty Mountains, he comes across Gollum's dark cave , where the creature sat for hundreds of years with the One Ring. Titled "Riddles in the Dark," It's easily one of the most memorable moments in the book and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey . In order to secure his escape, Bilbo agrees to a game of Riddles with Gollum, betting that if he wins, he'll be shown the way out.

Despite Gollum's declining mental state , he's still an expert at riddles, and Bilbo quickly realizes he's met his match. Gollum then accidentally says, "Ask me a question." So Bilbo asks, "What have I got in my pocket?" Only something he could know the answer to. While it could be seen as cheating, Gollum is bested and tries to attack Bilbo using his One Ring. However, Bilbo had already stolen it and used the invisibility power to make a swift escape.

In Norse mythology, there's a tale called The Lay of Vafthrudnir. Vafthrudnir was a giant of the realms and was said to be the wisest being alive, knowing the answer to every question about important world events. Odin, the All-Father, wanted to meet the giant for himself, saying, "I want to match my wits against the riddle-master, the wise giant Vafthrudnir."

RELATED: Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Are Embracer Group's Latest Acquisitions

So, Odin arrives at Vafthrudnir's house and claims to be an ordinary man named Gagnrad. He challenges the giant with a series of questions about Norse history. Vafthrudnir then asks Odin some trivia, and he answers them all. Impressed by the knowledge of this mysterious stranger, Vafthrudnir says, "Here and now, my guest, in this hall, we'll wager our heads -- your life or my life -- on the outcome of this contest."

Odin agrees to the challenge and starts asking questions about Ragnarök, an event he dedicated much of his life to understanding. Again the two get locked into a stalemate, but Odin eventually asks, "What did Odin himself whisper in the ear of his son Balder before he burned on the pyre?" Of course, that was something only Odin himself could know the answer to. Vafthrudnir recognized this and said, "No one can tell what, long ago, you whispered in the ear of your son." And with that, Vafthrudnir lost the battle of wits.

Much like with Bilbo's game against Gollum , they had to ask an unfair question in order to win. It can be debated who really should've won in each story, but each proclaims the winner to be the wisest of their duals. And while the Norse story doesn't feature the riddles, it undoubtedly served as inspiration for one of Middle-earth's most compelling tales.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

View history

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first film of The Hobbit film trilogy , lasting 3 hours and 2 minutes. It was directed by Peter Jackson , who previously had directed The Lord of the Rings film trilogy . It was a major box office success, grossing over $1.017 billion worldwide. The film is the fourth Middle-earth film adaptation to be released, and the first chronologically.

Martin Freeman portrays a young Bilbo Baggins and Ian Holm reprises his role as an older Bilbo Baggins. Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis reprise their roles as Gandalf and Gollum , respectively, as do Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett , as Elrond and Galadriel .

The character of Radagast the Brown appears in the movie and is portrayed by Sylvester McCoy , who had been known mostly for his portrayal as the seventh incarnation of The Doctor on Doctor Who .

2 Memorable quotes
3 Development
4.3 Extended Edition only
4.4.1 Men of Dale
4.4.2 Dwarves of the Lonely Mountains
4.4.3 Mirkwood Elves
4.4.4 Hobbits of the Shire
4.4.5 Hunter Orcs
4.4.6 Elves of Rivendell
4.4.7 Goblins
5 Appearances and mentions
7 Extended Edition
10 Translations
11 References
12 External links

A reluctant Hobbit , Bilbo Baggins, sets out to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim their mountain home, and the gold within it from the dragon Smaug . [1]

Memorable quotes [ ]

Gandalf: Agreed. "

Development [ ]

Credits [ ].

Ian McKellen as Gandalf
Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins
Richard Armitage as Thorin II Oakenshield
Ken Stott as Balin
Graham McTavish as Dwalin
William Kircher as Bifur
James Nesbitt as Bofur
Stephen Hunter as Bombur
Dean O'Gorman as Fíli
Aidan Turner as Kíli
John Callen as Óin
Peter Hambleton as Glóin
Jed Brophy as Nori
Mark Hadlow as Dori
Adam Brown as Ori
Ian Holm as Old Bilbo
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
Hugo Weaving as Elrond
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
Christopher Lee as Saruman
Andy Serkis as Gollum
Sylvester McCoy as Radagast
Barry Humphries as Great Goblin
Jeffrey Thomas as Thrór
Michael Mizrahi as Thráin
Lee Pace as Thranduil
John Rawls as Yazneg
Stephen Ure as Fimbul
Timothy Bartlett as Master Worrywort
William Kircher as Tom
Peter Hambleton as Bert
Mark Hadlow as William
Bret McKenzie as Lindir
Stephen Ure as Grinnah
Kiran Shah as Goblin Scribe
Manu Bennett as Azog
Conan Stevens as Gundabad Orc Chieftain
Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug and Necromancer
Glenn Boswell as Dwarf Miner
Thomas Robins as Young Thráin

Extended Edition only [ ]

Luke Evans as Girion
Dan Hennah as The Old Took
Stephen Gledhill as Old Gammidge
Tim Gordon as Old Hob
Oscar Strik as Little Bilbo
Sonia Forbes-Adam as Belladonna (Took) Baggins
Erin Banks as Lobelia Sackville-Baggins
Brian Hotter as Otho Sackville-Baggins
Eric Vespe as Fredegar Chubb
Mervyn Smith as Tosser Grubb
Ruby Acevedo as "Cute Young Hobbit"
Katie Jackson
Honor McTavish
Louis Serkis
Ruby Serkis
Sonny Serkis

Uncredited [ ]

Men of dale [ ].

Mary Nesbitt
Peggy Nesbitt
Many unknowns

Dwarves of the Lonely Mountains [ ]

Peter Jackson
Jabez Olssen
James Wells
Richard Whiteside

Mirkwood Elves [ ]

Brendan Casey
Cameron Jones
Carl Van Room
Few unknowns

Hobbits of the Shire [ ]

Joan Z. Dawe
Melissa Kern
Aaron Morgan
Kaela Morgan
Ravi Narayan

Hunter Orcs [ ]

Frazer Anderson
George Harach
Christian Hipolito
Ane Kirkeng Jørgensen
Joseph Mika-Hunt
Elliot Travers

Elves of Rivendell [ ]

Jared Blakiston
Shane Boulton
Melanie Carrington
Andrew Fitzsimons
Luke Hawker
Dean Knowsley
Luke Wilson

Goblins [ ]

Renee Cataldo
Ben Fransham
Tim McLahlan
Nathan Meister
Terry Notary
Thomas Rimmer
James Trevena-Brown
Mark Trotter

Appearances and mentions [ ]

Species and creatures

Factions, groups and titles

Objects and artifacts

Miscellanea

Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, in a photo from the set of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Deviations from the book [ ]

[1] Elijah Wood appears briefly as Frodo Baggins , while this character does not appear in the book. However, his appearance is purely a cameo as the set-up for the movie, as the Red Book of Westmarch is being written and read by Bilbo, shortly before the start of The Fellowship of the Ring .
The Dwarves do not arrive in order (first Dwalin, then Balin, then Kíli and Fíli, then Óin, Glóin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur all at once, and then Thorin arrives significantly later) and they do not have their multi-colored hoods or beards as they did in the book.
Bilbo was shown to be allergic to Horses .
The Dwarves surrender when the Trolls threaten to rip Bilbo in two instead of being overpowered and popped into bags.
Bilbo goes to the Trolls because they steal the Dwarves' ponies.
In the book, it was Gandalf that stalled the trolls until they turned into stone. This was done by Bilbo in the film.
The trolls' cave is wide open, and there is no locked door blocking it.
In the book, Bilbo finds Sting and takes it. In the film, Gandalf comes upon it and gives it to Bilbo.
The group is attacked by Orcs on the way to Rivendell , just after the Trolls sequence in the movie. This did not happen in the book.
Radagast the Brown aids the Dwarves in escaping the Orc Warg-riders near Rivendell. In contrast, Radagast did not appear in the book at all, and there is only one mention of him.
Radagast investigates the darkness of Mirkwood, and at Dol Guldur encounters the Necromancer and the Witch-king of Angmar , with whom he briefly duels and from whom he takes a Morgul Blade. In contrast, Tolkien never wrote of any such incident.
Azog has survived the War of the Dwarves and Orcs in which he was wounded by Thorin, who cut off his arm, and hunts Thorin Oakenshield and his followers. In contrast, in the Tolkien literature Azog was beheaded by Thorin's cousin Dáin Ironfoot in the Battle of Azanulbizar , well before the events of The Hobbit . The events of leading to and included in the battle are also altered: Thrór leads an army to Moria to reclaim it as opposed to investigating it with a single companion, and he is beheaded during the battle while in the books this occurred several years beforehand. The origin of Thorin's name of Oakenshield is taken from the appendices of The Return of the King , but here takes place during battle with Azog and involves him picking up an oaken branch rather than cutting it off a tree.
While at Rivendell with Thorin's party, Gandalf meets with Elrond , Galadriel , and Saruman (the film's version of the White Council ) and relates Radagast's news about Mirkwood, but Saruman discounts Radagast's news about the Necromancer, who he says must be no more than a human pretending to be a wizard. This conflicts with Tolkien's version, in which the White Council already knew that the Necromancer was Sauron and was at Dol Guldur , since Gandalf had already confirmed this 89 years earlier, and Saruman had discovered two years earlier (although he did not inform the Council of this) that Sauron had learned of Isildur 's loss of the One Ring at the Gladden Fields by the river Anduin and his servants were searching the area. Accordingly, in Tolkien's original version, in the year of the events of The Hobbit , Saruman finally agreed to an attack on Dol Guldur because he wanted to prevent Sauron from finding the Ring. [2]
There is no mention of Galadriel in the book, although she is part of the White Council.
At the White Council meeting, Galadriel relates how the Witch-king of Angmar, after his defeat near Fornost , had been killed and sealed in a tomb in that could not be opened in the High Fells . This is a serious departure from canon (Tolkien's writings), in which the Witch-king had not died, but fled. In fact, Glorfindel had stopped pursuit of the Witch-king and prophesied, "Do not pursue him! He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall." [3] This prophecy, of course, was the basis for the later dramatic moment in The Lord of the Rings in which Éowyn was able to kill the Witch-king because she was not a man. This prophecy no longer makes sense if the Witch-king had already been killed and is now (as Saruman implies) just a spirit raised by a necromancer who could "summon the dead." Furthermore, per Tolkien the White Council knew the Witch-king had not been killed because he and the rest of the Nazgûl had previously been fighting with Gondor and had captured (and presumably killed) the last King of Gondor at Minas Morgul in TA 2050, long after he had fled Fornost [2] . It is possible, however, that the Ringwraiths could not die due to their Wraith nature and were imprisoned in the tombs, and only Sauron had the power to call them forth. As for how they presumably killed the last King of Gondor , Galadriel never specifically says if the other Ringwraiths were sealed in the High Fells along with the Witch-king when Angmar fell. So it is possible that the other Ringwraiths challenged and killed Eärnur , and were defeated and sealed with their leader centuries later.
When traveling along the mountain pass, Bilbo observes the stone-giants hurling rocks at a distance, "across the valley." Bilbo and his companions take refuge under a hanging rock during the thunderstorm (thunder-battle), but are never involved in the stone-giants' game.
In the book, it was Bilbo that alerted the party when the trapdoors in the Front Porch open. In the film, the Dwarves realize this just as they fall into the hole.
In the book, the Goblins only had tunnels, not rope bridges.
In the book, Bilbo is with the Dwarves when they are taken to the Great Goblin and later rescued by Gandalf. In the film, Bilbo is separated from the group and falls to Gollum's cave before the Dwarves are taken to the Great Goblin.
In the book The Hobbit , as in the prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring film , Bilbo Baggins finds the One Ring by chance when his hand happens to fall upon it as he is crawling through one of the dark Goblin-town tunnels, well before he comes across Gollum. In this film, Bilbo sees Gollum fighting with a Goblin and we see Gollum drop the Ring during the fight.
Gollum has six teeth in the book, not nine.
In the book, when Gollum and Bilbo were playing the game of riddles, the cave was pitch black and Bilbo could only see Gollum's glowing eyes and hear his voice echoing through the walls of the cave. In the film, the cave was partly lit up and Bilbo could see Gollum entirely.
In the book, Gandalf saves the Dwarves in the goblin cave with a storm of burning smoke and instantly slays the Goblin King with his blade. In the film, the Goblin King is merely knocked aside in this scene (though many of his minions die in the telekinetic blast), and slain later on.
In the film, Gandalf does not use multi-colored fire when lighting the pine cones.

Extended Edition [ ]

The extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released on October 22 , 2013 for digital downloads and November 5 2013 for hard copies. It includes these scenes:

The introduction. The Elvenking Thranduil is given more screen time. He approaches the throne while Thráin gestures for a Dwarf to show Thranduil a chest of gems. As Thranduil looks entranced and reaches for it, the Dwarf closes the lid. Bard's ancestor Girion is given screen time. He is seen behind his Wind lance attempting to shoot down Smaug during the dragon's attack on Dale .
Bilbo's introduction to himself. A flashback wherein a young hobbit boy comes running up to Gandalf and plays with him. His mother Belladonna runs after him and acknowledges Gandalf as an old friend.
After Bilbo meets Gandalf on the front bench, he buys supper from Hobbiton while suspiciously looking around everywhere to make sure Gandalf is not around.
Kíli glances over to a female Elf in Rivendell and winks at her. Dwalin sees him and Kíli begins making excuses. In one of his excuses, he mistakenly calls another male Elf a female and Dwalin corrects him. The rest of the Dwarves laugh much to Kíli's embarrassment.
While eating, Nori and Óin complain about the song played by the Elf musicians. Bofur climbs up a platform and begins singing. The other Dwarves join in and start throwing food around. Elrond and Lindir look surprised and angry about Dwarves activities because they start throwing fruit to Elrond, Lindir and Bofur but they say nothing about it.
Bilbo is wandering around Rivendell during the daytime. He approaches the statue holding the shards of Narsil before a particular painting catches his eye. The painting depicts Isildur about to cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. Bilbo is particularly interested in the One Ring on Sauron's hand.
A conversation between Bilbo and Elrond in Rivendell. Elrond also welcomes Bilbo to stay in Rivendell if he wishes.
Lindir complains to Elrond about the Dwarves' behavior. They find them swimming in a large fountain.
Gandalf and Elrond further discuss Thorin and Company's quest. Elrond voices his concern of Thorin himself, since both his grandfather and father succumbed to madness. Bilbo and Thorin overhear this conversation.
At the White Council, Gandalf brings up the fact that the Ring of Power once owned by Thorin's father mysteriously vanished. Saruman dismisses this as it would be of no use since all believe the One Ring was lost long ago.
A new song from the goblin king and longer interrogation.

Bilbo in Rivendell with the Dwarves

Guillermo del Toro was originally on board to direct, but bowed out due to "ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming."
When it appeared Martin Freeman would not be available to play Bilbo in The Hobbit films due to scheduling conflicts with the BBC television series Sherlock , other actors such as James McAvoy and Tobey Maguire were considered. A false rumour was spread online that David Tennant was considered, but both Tennant and Jackson denied this. Tennant was actually considered for (and offered) the role of Thranduil but had to turn it down when his girlfriend discovered she was pregnant.
Ryan Gage was originally cast to play Drogo Baggins , father of Frodo Baggins . According to Peter Jackson , "Ryan is a great young actor who we originally cast in a small role, but we liked him so much, we promoted him to the much larger Alfrid part."
This is the only film in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies in which Legolas makes no appearance.
The scene when Bilbo first puts on the Ring is very similar to the scene in The Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo puts on the Ring in The Prancing Pony .
The filmmakers titled the project Little Rivers to aid in hiding the film's identity.
When a Giant Eagle grabs Thorin's unconscious body, his oak-log shield falls off his arm and is permanently left behind.
This was both the last film not distributed by Disney, Universal or Paramount and the last film distributed by Warner Bros . to gross $1 billion until the release of Aquaman in 2018.

Gallery [ ]

Translations [ ]

References [ ].

↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/
↑ 2.0 2.1 The Lord of the Rings , Appendix B
↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings , Appendix A (I, iv).

External links [ ]

Official site of The Hobbit films
Trailer for the movie
Differences between the book and the film Art
Lord of the Rings
3 Aragorn II

The Inventory

Can You Solve These Seven Riddles Inspired By The Hobbit ?

Even Bilbo Baggins would have a hard time tackling this week's riddles.

The third installment in The Hobbit trilogy debuts this week. We're celebrating with brainteasers inspired by the riddles exchanged between Gollum and Bilbo in the fifth chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit . You'll find them below, under the sub-heading "Sunday Puzzle(s) #11: Riddles From a Recluse. " What follows here is an explanation of where these riddles originated, and a brief introduction by Tolkien scholar Adam Roberts, author of The Riddles of The Hobbit .

"Riddles and The Hobbit ," By Adam Roberts

Though it may look like a relatively small-scale, straightforward YA adventure narrative, The Hobbit has always struck me as a rather more complex and riddling text than that. It is, for instance, rather more riddling, indeed, than the more linear Lord of the Rings . Riddles interpenetrate the earlier novel in a way not really true of the later. It’s not just the celebrated ‘riddle game’ between Bilbo and Gollum (although it’s no coincidence, I think, that that scene was the highlight of the rather overlong first movie in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ). Riddles are everywhere in the book, from Gandalf treating Bilbo’s ‘good morning’ as a riddle (‘what do you mean?’) to the Trolls asking ‘what’s a burrahobbit’. The larger form of the novel expresses a riddling, or ironic, juxtaposition of ‘pagan’ Northern European mythology and ‘respectable’ eighteenth-century bourgeois Christianity. This, strangely, is much less a feature of The Lord of the Rings , where the Christian symbolism is much more straightforwardly worked into the fabric of the nobel. Frodo travels through the sort of imagined secondary world familiar from a thousand Fantasy novels written in the genre that Tolkien effectively invented. Bilbo, though, walks through a rather stranger place, figured somewhere between Tolkien’s restless worldbuilding (the invented ‘history’ of Middle Earth) and a more archaic world out of Grimm’s fairy tales or folk stories.

Kids love riddles; but then, most adults do too. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit in part because he was himself deeply immersed in Anglo-Saxon culture—and the Anglo Saxons loved riddles. Many of our earliest examples of the form date from then, and collections like The Exeter Book continue to entertain and delight today. I think that the Old English love of riddles captures something of the way they approached life: life is a puzzle, but one to be encountered with joy and wit rather than despair. A lot of art is mimetic, but the relationship between riddles and reality is ironic, playful, tricky. Something similar can be said of the two modes of art, ‘realism’ (mimetic) and Fantasy (ironic).

The Anglo-Saxon world from which Tolkien took so much inspiration saw the universe as a riddle, and prized an ironic stance with respect to it. Not that courage and loyalty and strength were unimportant (of course, they were vitally important), but that a warrior hold his strength lightly, that he face death with a smile, that he fight more fiercely in the teeth of certain defeat. I am not talking about flippancy, or a more clumsy disrespectful. I am talking about accepting that there is a mismatch between our human abilities to understand and the brute fact of the cosmos. All we have to decide, to quote somebody, is what to do with the time that has been given us. Riddles teach us what Keats, in a different context, called negative capability. That's more important now, in some ways, than it has ever been.

This is one reason why The Hobbit is so fascinated by riddles. There are others, I think. Working on ‘riddles’ in Tolkien’s fable has helped me see something clearer about the way the book is structured. It is, of course, a story of good versus evil, like a Grimm's tale or a parable; but it understands something of the appeal of wickedness as well as its delinquency. The two most memorable characters in the book (after Bilbo maybe; or perhaps to a greater extent even than him) are Gollum and Smaug. The tale really comes alive when those two are on the page. What differentiates them from the other threats the travellers face, like the goblins, wolves or spiders, is that they are riddling, they have an extra layer of complexity to them. They both invite us not only to dismiss them as bad, but to understand them as conflicted, or glamorous, or other. In other words, the moral universe for Tolkien includes both the patently good and the patently bad, but also a riddling middle ground.

Sunday Puzzle(s) #11: Riddles From A Recluse

Unlike other rulers I am strengthened by neglect.

Over my jurisdiction, great taxes I elect.

When routine dues are paid, I am weakened severely.

Yet if too long delayed, it may cost you quite dearly.

My vault is of the flesh, my tellers silver and bone.

The upkeep of the kingdom is financed with a loan.

A pallid visage in plain sight revealed by its foe.

It does not fast, it does not feast, and yet does shrink and grow.

Much grander and yet more minute than those it stands beside.

Unendingly stalking around, a circuitous stride.

I'm left behind yet never taken, set down in a row.

Seldom seen in isolation, captured by the snow.

Set apart by haste, though immobile all the same.

When left un-defaced, a betrayal of the game.

Born of the cold and born of the heat.

Pacing the world on legs oh so fleet.

Swiftest up high, lethargic down low.

The actions are seen, the form does not show.

With twelve eggs on order, the cook sat and thought.

"One at a time if I like it or not."

With three in the freezer and three in the pot,

Three in each hand neither too cold nor hot.

The first two were airy, or so he remembers,

The last two both burnt up and ended in embers.

A bound serpent dances on the cave floor.

Writhing guardsman of the windy door.

Sharp yet supple and mute yet speaking.

Devoid of hunger, nourishment seeking.

Ceaseless blur or rigid banner varying by host.

On the smallest scale less substantial than a ghost.

Commonplace yet pivotal to rise above it all.

As a pair they triumph yet once separated fall.

We'll be back next week with the solutions – and a new puzzle! Got a great brainteaser, original or otherwise, that you'd like to see featured? E-mail me with your recommendations. (Be sure to include "Sunday Puzzle" in the subject line.)

SOLUTION To Sunday Puzzle #10: Six Fearsome Heroes

Last week, I asked you to tackle this "extremely difficult" Star Trek puzzle , designed by University of Kentucky professor Raphael Finkel.

I'm going to come right out and say it: This puzzle is, in fact, "extremely difficult." It is not so much one puzzle as it is several logic puzzles. Some of those puzzles are nested, such that certain conclusions cannot be made until one has accurately arrived at some other conclusion or conclusions. This kind of puzzle can get very complicated very quickly, and solving it typically involves the use of a spreadsheet or some kind of table to keep track of all the relationships in play.

It's also the kind of puzzle that begs for a programmatic approach. And, in fact, that's exactly how Finkel solves it himself. " This admission may come as a surprise," he writes me by email, "but I have no idea how to attack this puzzle with pen and paper!"

Raphael Finkel's Solution

Before you yell at me: Yes, it is possible to deduce without the aid of a computer. That solution appears below. Here is how Finkel says he approaches it:

The way I solve it is to express it in my own notation, which I call Puzzle Lingo (Software ― Practice and Experience, Volume 34, number 15, pages 1481-1504, December 2004). I then use a script I wrote that converts this notation into an answer-set program (a kind of logic notation, derived from Prolog). I then use standard solver software ( such as clasp ) to search for a solution, which I then post-process, into something that looks like this:

The solver follows a sophisticated version of this method: Select some statement (such as "Data fears Geordi") and assign it a truth value (true or false). Then see what other statements are logical consequences of that assignment. If there is a contradiction, backtrack. If all statements now have an assigned truth value, stop. Otherwise, pick another statement and continue recursively. What distinguishes one solver from another is how they pick the sentences to assign, what truth value they assign, and what they learn from contradictions. On my computer, the clasp solver takes 0.05 seconds (including input and output!), and including pre-processing and post-processing, the entire process uses less than 0.1 CPU seconds.

The process Finkel describes – of testing a statement's validity by seeing whether other statements are logical consequences, and backtracking when contradictions arise – is a logic puzzle solving strategy known as "Ariadne's Thread." It requires a lot of organization and, in an instance like this, a lot of time. It's the perfect approach for a computer, which can rapidly run through different scenarios and keep track of their outcomes.

Reader John Bohannon took precisely this approach, creating a program of his own that solves the puzzle in well under a minute. Those of you fluent in Python should check out Bohannon's solution, which he has has posted to GitHub .

For a person, however, brute-forcing a problem with Ariadne's thread can be maddening. Maybe even impossible. Which raises the question: How best to approach this problem with pen and paper?

Raphael Ordoñez's Solution

I think ejconer was the first commenter to provide a correct response. However, the solving process ejconer supplied was difficult for me to follow and compare with my own (admittedly sloppy) problem-solving process.

Some days later, however, I came across a beautifully documented solution by math professor Raphael Ordoñez that, I think, embodies the clearest, most organized approach to this puzzle. Here, reproduced with Ordoñez's permission from his blog , is that solution. (Ed. Note: For clarity, I have replaced Ordoñez's text-based tables with something a little cleaner.)

Raphael Ordoñez's Solution to Six Fearsome Heroes

Upon closer examination, we find that there are five statements dealing with only heroes or fear (Statements 3, 5, 6, 7, 10), five statements dealing with only Tri-D Chess or Fizzbin (Statements 1, 2, 8, 9, 11), and exactly one statement dealing with both (Statement 4). Let's renumber, and also break up Statement 10:

1A. Troi is feared by the person Geordi fears.

1B. Riker is feared by the person Picard fears

1C. Picard's hero fears Geordi.

1D. Riker is the hero of Worf's hero.

1E. Data is the hero of Riker's hero.

1F. Data's hero is not Geordi.

2. Worf's hero ranks 3 times lower at Tri-D Chess than the crew member who is best at Fizzbin.

3A. Picard ranks two positions behind Troi at Fizzbin.

3B. The person who is worst at Fizzbin is better than Troi at Tri-D Chess.

3C. The person ranked number 3 at Tri-D Chess is ranked 4 positions higher than Data at Fizzbin.

3D. Riker is ranked 2 lower at Tri-D Chess than the crew member ranked 2 at Fizzbin.

3E. Geordi ranks 2 at Tri-D Chess.

The puzzle of fears and heroes can be solved on its own, using only Statements 1A – 1F. The fact that each crew member is feared by some other member means that the correspondence is surjective ; therefore, it must be bijective as well, and each must be feared by exactly one other member. So we can't have two members fearing the same member, etc. The same goes for heroes.

First, for fears, Statement 1A yields

F: Geordi → (???) → Troi

and Statement 1B yields

F: Picard → (???) → Riker

For heroes, Statements 1D and 1E yield

H: Worf → (???) → Riker → (???) → Data

Now, Data must adulate someone; he can't adulate Riker or the two unknowns in the hero chain, because their admirers are accounted for, and he can't adulate Worf, as this would leave out our third unknown. So he must adulate the third unknown, who in turn adulates Worf:

H: Worf → (???) → Riker → (???) → Data → (???) → Worf

Next, Statement 1F states that Data doesn't adulate Geordi, so Data must adulate Picard or Troi. If Picard, then Statement 1C implies that Worf fears Geordi. This would give us

F: Worf → Geordi → (???) → Troi

Five crew members are written explicitly here. So at least one of the unknowns already appears in one of these chains, and the only way the two chains fit together is if Picard is feared by Geordi, so

F: Worf → Geordi → Picard → Troi → Riker

But this creates an impossible situation. Worf must adulate Geordi or Troi. If Geordi, then this violates his fear of Geordi, since no one can both adulate and fear the same person. If Troi, then Troi would adulate Riker, violating her fear of Riker.

It follows that Data adulates Troi. We have

H: Worf → (???) → Riker → (???) → Data → Troi → Worf

Now, either Worf adulates Picard and Riker, Geordi, or vice versa. But Worf can't adulate Picard, or else Picard would adulate Riker, with the implication that Riker would fear Geordi (Statement 1C), resulting in

F: Picard → (???) → Riker → Geordi → (???) → Troi

which violates Riker's adulation of Geordi. So Worf adulates Geordi, and Riker, Picard. We've completed our hero chain :

H: Worf → Geordi → Riker → Picard → Data → Troi → Worf

Next, Statement 1C implies that Data fears Geordi, so we have

F: Data → Geordi → (???) → Troi

The only way for these chains to fit together is for Picard to be the first unknown. So we have

F: Data → Geordi → Picard → Troi → Riker → Worf → Data

This completes our chain of fear . On to Tri-D and Fizzbin.

According to Statement 3A, Picard ranks 2 lower than Troi at Fizzbin, so he can't rank 5 or 6, and Troi can't rank 1 or 2. Similarly, Troi can't rank 6 at Tri-D (Statement 3B), and Data can't rank 3 at Tri-D or 3, 4, 5, or 6 at Fizzbin (Statement 3C); since Picard can't rank 5 or 6 at Fizzbin, Statement 3C also implies that Picard can't rank 3 at Tri-D. Also, Riker can't rank 5 or 6 at Tri-D (Statement 3D). Finally, we know for a fact that Geordi ranks 2 at Tri-D (Statement 3E). So far we have:

We know that Geordi is Worf's hero, so Geordi is ranked 3 times lower at Tri-D Chess than the crew member who is best at Fizzbin. Since we already know Geordi is ranked 2, the person who is best at Fizzbin must also be best at Tri-D. This eliminates Data and Picard from being best at Tri-D, and Geordi, Riker, and Troi from being best at Fizzbin. So Worf must be best at both. Worf does not rank 2 at Fizzbin, so Statement 3D implies that Riker does not rank 4 at Tri-D.

Now, Riker ranks either 1 or 3 at Tri-D. If he ranks 1, then Troi must rank 3. It would follow that Troi ranks 4 places above Data at Fizzbin (Statement 3C). With the spaces available, the only way this could happen is for Data to rank 1 at Fizzbin and Troi to rank 5. But Statement 3D would imply that Troi ranks 2 at Fizzbin, a contradiction.

So Riker ranks 3 at Tri-D. He therefore ranks 4 places above Data at Fizzbin, placing Data at 1 and Riker at 5. We now know that Data did better than Troi at Tri-D (Statement 3B), so he can't rank 1 at Tri-D, and Troi can't rank 5 at Tri-D. We have:

Statement 3D implies that the person who ranks 2 at Fizzbin also ranks 5 at Tri-D; this means that Data does not rank 5 at Tri-D, hence must rank 4.

So Troi is ranked 1 at Tri-D, and Picard is ranked 5. It follows that Picard is ranked 2 at Fizzbin (Statement 3D), and Troi is ranked 4 (Statement 3A). Geordi must therefore rank 3 at Fizzbin.

And we're done. To sum up:

Data fears Geordi, adulates Troi, ranks 4 at Tri-D, and ranks 1 at Fizzbin.
Geordi fears Picard, adulates Riker, ranks 2 at Tri-D, and ranks 3 at Fizzbin.
Picard fears Troi, adulates Data, ranks 5 at Tri-D, and ranks 2 at Fizzbin.
Riker fears Worf, adulates Picard, ranks 3 at Tri-D, and ranks 5 at Fizzbin.
Troi fears Riker, adulates Worf, ranks 1 at Tri-D, and ranks 4 at Fizzbin.
Worf fears Data, adulates Geordi, ranks 6 at Tri-D, and ranks 6 at Fizzbin.

*LONG, DEEP INHALE* – Did you get all that? Ordoñez tells me he solved this puzzle and wrote up the solution while his students were taking a final exam. As someone who poured untold hours into tackling this problem, I think I hate him for this.

Considerations

This was hard. The way the rankings were ordered (with rank 1 being the worst and rank 6 being the best) had me constantly checking to make sure I had my positions correct, and I know from the comments that I was not alone. I asked Finkel if this was meant to be intentionally misleading, to which he replied:

Good question. I think the expression "twice as good" should mean "has a rank twice as high", so rank ought to increase. It's kind of strange that we don't generally do that.

Anyway – would you believe that Finkel has harder puzzles than this? According to him, this is a 4-star puzzle. There is has a harder version, he says, "where every crew member eats lunch with exactly one other crew member," that comes in at 6-stars.

Perhaps we'll see another of his logic puzzles in the future.

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40+ Bilbo and Gollum Riddles to Boost Brain with The Hobbit Fantasy

The conversation between Bilbo and Gollum includes a large part of the riddles. After all, it’s the riddles that decide the fate of Bilbo.

So, why don’t you join the journey of solving the riddles just like Bilbo? We have prepared a bunch of fun and exciting riddles for you to solve!

Bilbo and Gollum riddles for kids

Do you know why the writing style of Hobbit was meant to be so easy and not complex? Because it was meant to target the child audience.

It truly is a fantasy novel with a heroic ending and an easy-to-follow story plot.

Q. It cries without any noise. It flies in the absence of wings. With no teeth, it bites. With no mouth, he speaks. What is it?

Q. I am not to be seen. Neither can you feel me. I cannot be heard. You cannot smell me. I lay far behind the shining stars. I hide under the mountains. I fill every empty hole. Everything comes after me. Everything goes before me. Who am I?

Q. Thirty white soldiers were standing beside each other. Firstly, they check. Then they stomp and then the clank.

A. Teeth

Q. Bilbo becomes invisible as soon as he uses it. What did he use?

A. The Ring makes him invisible.

Q. I am a box without eyelids and mouth. But inside, I am growing a golden treasure. What am I?

A. An egg

Q. Bilbo asks, “What’s in my pocket?” Can you guess what was in his pocket?

Related: Amazing Candy Riddles

Hard Bilbo and Gollum riddles

Gollum is the antagonist in the whole story. Because the main motive of Gollum was to eat the hobbit names Bilbo. Did you know that Hobbit was later adapted as a screenplay called ‘Lord of the ring’?

It was mostly targeted at adults because of the worldwide popularity Hobbit achieved. Do you want to get more knowledge about the movie too? Then try to solve the following riddles!

Q. What makes Bilbo uncomfortable in the dark tunnel?

A. He checks his pocket while answering Gollum’s riddles. To his surprise, he finds out a ring in his pocket.

Q. I am a hobbit, hiding inside the darkness. I promised myself to recover ‘the one ring .’Which character am I?

A. Gollum the Stoorish Hobbit

Q. Existing without breathing, as cold as the arms of death. Can you name who is constantly drinking even without feeling thirsty?

Q. No legs sitting on the table. Later two legs get some. After a while, two legs get some too. Can you explain the riddle?

A. A fish is lying on the table. A man eats the fish and gives the cat the remaining fish.

Q. Who kills the Witch-King?

Q. Who gave the following statement? “Nine companies. So be it. You would be the fellowship of the Ring.”

Q. Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, and Pallando had another companion with them to save the people of the middle east. Can you remember the name?

Q. I held the sword Orcrist in The Hobbit. What’s my name?

A. Thorin

Q. Lady Galadriel gives a special gift to Gimli before they leave Lothlorien. What was the special gift?

A. Lady Galadriel gives him three strands of her hair.

Q. What was Gollum’s real name?

Q. The Sting (Sword) always lit up when someone was nearby. Can you guess who was nearby?

A. The presence of Orcs made the sword glow up.

Q. Which Ring did Galadriel own?

A. Ring of Water, also called Nenya

Q. I was the last keeper of the Ring of fire called Narya. Guess my name.

Related: Tricky 7 Second Riddles

Funny Bilbo and Gollum riddles

Along with the drastic character development of Bilbo Baggins, Hobbit is also loved because of its action and funny bickering of dwarfs.

Now when we say funny, why should you even remain back to try out these funny riddles? It’s time for a round of fun riddles now!

Q. I have eyes to see. Yet, I am blind. What am I?

A. A needle

Q. It has a wide neck. It can adjust according to you. But it lacks a face. Guess the name.

Q. Women adore me. They would carry me around everywhere if they could. Yet, only lucky people can get me. I am shining and round. What am I?

A. A pearl necklace

Q. I have 13 hearts. I am not a human. I don’t have any other organ

A. Deck of playing cards

Q. I saw 8 Hobbits together this morning. Do you know what I called them?

Q. Can you guess the name of Saruman’s future girlfriend?

A. Saruwoman

Q. Okay, this one is the best. What was the reason that ‘the Hobbit’ was turned into a movie later?

A. Because everyone was “baggin” for it

Q. What did Bilbo say out loud when he noticed 11 elves dancing together?

A. “Maybe Christmas is near”

Q. The Hobbit ruined a wedding. Do you know why?

A. Because he destroyed the ‘ring.’

Q. Why does Frodo read a book every night?

A. Because Frodo is hobbi-tual

Q. can you play the Lord of the Rings arcade game for free?

A. No. (hold your breath, it’s coming) You need Tolkeins to play that game.

Q. I have a cousin working in KFC. Do you know what I named him?

A. Lord of the wings

Related: Best Animal Riddles

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the 2012 epic fantasy adventure film and the first installment in The Hobbit motion picture trilogy based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien . It tells the tale of Bilbo and his journey to the Lonely Mountain with Thirteen Dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf the Grey, to reclaim the treasure stolen by Smaug the dragon.

1 Bilbo Baggins
2 Gandalf the Grey
4 Thorin Oakenshield
5 Radagast The Brown
6 Gollum / Sméagol
10 See also
11 External links

Bilbo Baggins [ edit ]

My dear Frodo, you asked me once if I had told you everything there was to know about my adventures. And while I can honestly say I have told you the truth, I may not have told you all of it. I am old now, Frodo. I'm not the same hobbit as I once was. I think it is time for you to know what really happened. It began long ago in a land far away to the east, the like of which you will not find in the world today. There was the city of Dale, its markets known far and wide, full of the bounties of vine and vale, peaceful and prosperous. For this city lay before the doors of the greatest kingdom in Middle-earth; Erebor, stronghold of Thrór, King under the Mountain and mightiest of the Dwarf-lords. Thrór ruled with utter surety, never doubting his house would endure, for his line lay secure in the lives of his son and grandson. Ah, Frodo, Erebor! Built deep within the mountain itself, the beauty of this fortress city was legend. Its wealth lay in the earth, in precious gems hewn from rock and in great seams of gold running like rivers through stone. The skill of the Dwarves was unequaled, fashioning objects of great beauty out of diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire. Ever they delved deep, down into the dark and that is where they found it, the Heart of the Mountain! The Arkenstone. Thrór named it the King's Jewel. He took it as a sign, a sign that his right to rule was divine. All would pay homage to him, even the great Elven King, Thranduil. But the years of peace and plenty were not to last. Slowly, the days turned sour and the watchful nights closed in. Thrór's love of gold had grown too fierce. A sickness had begun to grow within him. It was a sickness of the mind. And where sickness thrives, bad things will follow. The first they heard was a noise like a hurricane coming down from the North; the pines on the mountain creaked and cracked in the hot, dry wind. It was a fire-drake from the North. Smaug had come! Such wanton death was dealt that day, for this city of Men was nothing to Smaug. His eye was set on another prize. For dragons covet gold with a dark and fierce desire. Erebor was lost - for a dragon will guard his plunder as long as he lives. Thranduil would not risk the lives of his kin against the wrath of the dragon. No help came from the Elves that day...or any day since. Robbed of their homeland, the Dwarves of Erebor wandered the wilderness. A once mighty people brought low. The young Dwarf prince took work where he could find it, laboring in the villages of Men. But always he remembered the mountain smoke beneath the moon, the trees like torches blazing bright, for he had seen dragon-fire in the sky and a city turned to ash. And he never forgave...and he never forgot.
That, my dear Frodo, is where I come in, for quite by chance and the will of a Wizard, fate decided I would become part of this tale. It began...well, it began as you might expect. In a hole in a ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole full of worms and oozy smells. This was a hobbit-hole and that means good food, a warm hearth, and all the comforts of home.
I'm going on an adventure!
[to the trolls, about cooking the dwarves] Well, have you smelled them? You're going to need something a lot stronger than sage before you plate this lot up.

Gandalf the Grey [ edit ]

You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead.
[to the three Trolls] THE DAWN WILL TAKE YOU ALL!
Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. The last of the great Dwarf kingdoms of Middle-earth.
Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is!
What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that it is a morning to be good on?
True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.

Balin [ edit ]

[ to Bilbo ] Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria...but our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs, led by the most vile of all their race, Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed; we did not know. We were leaderless; defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him; the young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armour rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield...Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back; our enemy had been defeated...but there was no feast nor song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived and I thought to myself then 'There is one I could follow. There is one I could call King'.

Thorin Oakenshield [ edit ]

If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years...Eyes look east to the mountain assessing, wondering, weighing the risk...Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?!
Loyalty, honor, a willing heart, I can ask no more than that.
I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills.
[about the Key to the Hidden Door] From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day the Dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me.

Radagast The Brown [ edit ]

[Radagast fails to cure a sick hedgehog, despite trying numerous cures] I don't understand why it's not working! It's not as if it's witchcraft! [pauses] Witchcraft . Oh, but it is. A dark and powerful magic...
[showing Gandalf a Morgul blade he recovered from Dol Guldur] That is not from the world of the living.

Gollum / Sméagol [ edit ]

What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?
Baggins! Thief! Curse it and crush it! We hates it FOREVER!!!
Gollum! Gollum!

Dialogue [ edit ]

Cast [ edit ].

Ian McKellen as Gandalf
Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield
James Nesbitt as Bofur
Ken Stott as Balin
Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown
Barry Humphries as The Great Goblin
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
Ian Holm as Old Bilbo Baggins
Christopher Lee as Saruman
Hugo Weaving as Elrond
Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
Andy Serkis as Gollum/Sméagol
Aidan Turner as Kili
Dean O'Gorman as Fili
Graham McTavish as Dwalin
Adam Brown as Ori
Peter Hambleton as Gloin
John Callen as Oin
Mark Hadlow as Dori
Jed Brophy as Nori
William Kircher as Bifur
Stephen Hunter as Bombur
Lee Pace as Thranduil
Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug / Necromancer
Manu Bennett as Azog
Conan Stevens as Bolg
Jeffrey Thomas as Thror
Thomas Robins as Thrain
Bret McKenzie as Lindir
Jarred Blakiston as Musical Elf
Andrew Fitzsimons as Elf
Branden Casey, Carl Van Room & Cameron Jones as Thranduil's Lieutenants

Taglines [ edit ]

From the smallest beginnings come the greatest legends.

External links [ edit ]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey quotes at the Internet Movie Database
The Official Hobbit Site

Adaptations of works by J. R. R. Tolkien
Films about wizards
Adventure films
Fantasy films
Films based on novels
New Zealand films
Dwarf films
Troll films
Dragon films
Screenplays by Guillermo del Toro
Screenplays by Peter Jackson
Screenplays by Philippa Boyens
Films directed by Peter Jackson
Treasure hunt films

Movies Quiz: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | 15 Questions

"an unexpected journey" is peter jackson's first movie in his trilogy based on "the hobbit", by j.r.r. tolkien..

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of dwarves to reclaim their mountain home, and the gold within it from the dragon Smaug.
Bilbo Baggins is swept into a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever ... Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities ... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know. — Production
Once upon a time, the Kingdom of Erebor in the Lonely Mountain was taken from the dwarfs by the evil dragon Smaug. One day, the young Hobbit Bilbo Baggins is unexpectedly visited by the wizard Gandalf the Grey and twelve homeless dwarfs led by their former king Thorin and decided to vanquish Smaug and recover Erebor and their treasure. Bilbo joins the company in an unexpected journey through dangerous lands of the Middle-Earth where they have to fight against Trolls, Orcs and other magic creatures. Bilbo also meets the Gollum and finds his lost magic ring. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A well mannered Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, embarks upon a journey to take back a kingdom, and a very important jewel ,with twelve dwarves, and a wizard named Gandalf the Grey. Halfway throughout the journey, Bilbo embarks upon a magic golden ring, which he stole, or earned from Gollum.
With his days of adventure and excitement nearly forgotten, the now 111-year-old Bilbo Baggins, has finally settled down for a more conventional, comfortable--and above all--safe way of living in his beloved green Shire. Almost sixty years before the formation of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) , a knock at Bilbo's door from the wise Gandalf the Grey and an assortment of uncontrollable Dwarves led by King Thorin II Oakenshield prepared the ground for an unexpected quest to help them reclaim their homeland, Erebor. As the Lonely Mountain was taken over by the gargantuan gold-loving dragon, Smaug, this unlikely company would face challenge upon challenge that would later seal the fate of the entire Middle-earth. — Nick Riganas
Approaching his 111th birthday, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) begins writing down the full story of his adventure 60 years earlier for the benefit of his nephew Frodo. Long before Bilbo's involvement, the Dwarf king Thror (Jeffrey Thomas) brings an era of prosperity to his kin under the Lonely Mountain until the arrival of the dragon Smaug. Thror had a precious diamond (the heart of the mountain) and untold riches of gold that had led his city to prosperity. This drew the dragon Smaug to it, as dragons covet gold with a deep desire. Destroying the nearby town of Dale, Smaug drives the Dwarves out of their mountain and takes their hoard of gold. The dragon then sets base in the Lonely Mountain & drives all the dwarfs out. Thror's grandson Thorin (Richard Armitage) sees King Thranduil and his Wood-elves on a nearby hillside and is dismayed when they take their leave rather than aid his people, resulting in Thorin's everlasting hatred of Elves. The dwarfs were scattered all over the Middle Earth. Prince Thranduil took work wherever he could find it, mostly in the city of men. In the Shire, young Bilbo is tricked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) into hosting a party for Thorin and his company of dwarfs: Balin (Ken Stott), Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Fili (Dean O'Gorman), Kili (Aidan Turner), Dori (Mark Hadlow), Nori (Jed Brophy), Ori (Adam Brown), Oin (John Callen), Gloin (Peter Hambleton), Bifur (William Kircher), Bofur (James Nesbitt), and Bombur (Stephen Hunter). Gandalf's aim is to recruit Bilbo as the company's "burglar" to aid them in their quest to enter the Lonely Mountain. Thorin believes that the time is right for Smaug's reign to end. He knows that others have read the signs too. So, he has assembled the company of Dwarfs along with Gandalf to recover the lost treasure of Erebor for his people. Bilbo is unwilling to accept at first but has a change of heart after they leave without him. On their journey, Balin tells Bilbo that once Erebor was lost to Smaug, Thror tried to reclaim the dwarf city of Moria, but it had already been taken over by a legion of Orcs. The Orcs were led by the vilest of Orc, Azog the defiler (Manu Bennett). Azog killed Thror & had sworn to kill Thorin, making Orcs the sworn enemy of dwarfs for all eternity. Thorin cuts offs Azog arm in the same battle & rallies his troops to a famous victory over the Orcs. Traveling onward, the company is captured by three trolls. Bilbo stalls the trolls from eating them until dawn, when Gandalf exposes the trolls to sunlight, which turns them to stone. They search the trolls' cave and find treasure and Elven blades. Thorin and Gandalf each take an Elf-made blade-Orcrist and Glamdring, respectively-with the latter finding an Elven short sword, which he gives to Bilbo. The company encounters the wizard Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy) (Radagast & Gandalf are 2 of the 5 wizards in Middle earth, led by Saruman the white), who tells them of an encounter at Dol Guldur with a Necromancer that has been corrupting Greenwood with dark magic. A Necromancer is an evil spirit with powers to interact with the underworld. The Necromancer had attacked Radagast at Dol Guldur, but Radagast escaped. While escaping, he picks a strange blade from Dol Guldur that is not from the land of the living. The company is then chased by orcs on Wargs. Radagast covers the company's escape as Gandalf leads the company through a stone passage to Rivendell. There the company is rescued by Elves who chase the Orgs away. Thorin is dead against asking for any help from Elves, but Gandalf convinces him. There, Elf Lord Elrond (Hugo Weaving) discloses a hidden indication of a secret door on the company's map of the Lonely Mountain, which will be visible only on Durin's Day, which is fast approaching. Gandalf later tells the White Council-consisting of Elrond, Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Saruman the White (Christopher Lee) about his involvement with the Dwarves. He presents a Morgul-blade Radagast obtained from Dol Guldur as a sign that the Necromancer is linked to the Witch-king of Angmar and may attempt to use Smaug for his evil purposes. Saruman is skeptical, not believing the Necromancer to be a true threat. Galadriel knows that Angmar used to serve the evil lord Sauron. Sauron & his armies were defeated 400 years ago & there has been peace in middle earth. She believes that the riddle of the Necromancer must be resolved as it is hiding an evil that has not yet revealed itself. Galadriel thinks that the council should assemble an army to counter the impending threat, but Gandalf re-iterates his faith in the deeds of everyday ordinary folk to keep evil at bay. The leader of the Orc pack returns to his base & it is revealed that Azog is still alive & is baying for Thorin's blood. Without Gandalf, the company journeys into the Misty Mountains, where they find themselves amid a colossal battle between stone giants. They take refuge in a cave and are captured by Goblins, who take them to their leader, the Great Goblin (Barry Humphries). Bilbo becomes separated from the dwarfs and falls into a cave where he encounters Gollum (Andy Serkis), who accidentally drops a golden ring while killing a stray goblin to eat. Pocketing the ring, Bilbo finds himself confronted by Gollum. They play a riddle game, wagering that Bilbo will be shown the way out if he wins or eaten by Gollum if he loses. Bilbo eventually wins by asking Gollum what he has in his pocket. Noticing his ring is lost, Gollum suspects that Bilbo possesses it and attacks the hobbit. Bilbo discovers that the ring grants him invisibility and evades a furious Gollum. Bilbo finds his way out into the sunlight where the Gollum can't follow. Gollum curses Baggins & vows to hate all Baggins forever. Meanwhile, the Great Goblin reveals to the dwarfs that Azog, an Orc war-chief who beheaded Thror and lost his forearm to Thorin in battle outside the Dwarven kingdom of Moria, has placed a bounty on Thorin's head. Gandalf arrives and leads the dwarfs in an escape, killing the Great Goblin. Bilbo, sparing the pursuing Gollum, exits the mountain and rejoins the company, keeping secret his newly obtained ring. The company is ambushed by Azog and his hunting party and takes refuge in trees. Thorin charges Azog but is knocked to the ground. Bilbo saves Thorin from the orcs just as the company is rescued by eagles, who fly them to the safety of the Carrock. In the distance, the company sees the Lonely Mountain, where the sleeping Smaug is awakened by the knocking sound of a thrush.

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15 Times The Hobbit Movies Were Just As Good As Lord Of The Rings

Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" trilogy may be considered inferior to "The Lord of the Rings," but each film has moments that match the heights of the earlier series.
Key moments in "The Hobbit" films include the prologue of "An Unexpected Journey," Bilbo hosting Thorin's company in Bag End, and Bilbo's riddles with Gollum in "An Unexpected Journey."
"The Hobbit" trilogy has its fair share of criticisms, but focusing on the positive aspects reveals moments that equal or surpass those in "The Lord of the Rings," such as Bilbo fighting the spiders in Mirkwood and Smaug's inclusion from his back-and-forth with Bilbo to his attack on Laketown.

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy is often considered inferior to the director's earlier efforts with The Lord of the Rings , yet there are several moments in each film that equal the heights of their sequel installments. Initially, Jackson was not supposed to helm The Hobbit , with visionary director Guillermo del Toro originally attached to the projects that are since considered lesser offerings concerning Lord of the Rings/Hobbit rankings . However, delays in production forced del Toro away from the films which led Jackson to take up the reins and return to Middle-earth over a decade after beginning production on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Over the years, the movies of The Hobbit trilogy have received their fair share of criticisms. From the over-reliance on CGI to the stretching of a 300-page book across three films, Jackson's second trilogy is much less streamlined than the first. That said, the criticisms of The Hobbit often receive too much time in the spotlight and, when looking at the more positive aspects of Jackson's prequels, each film holds several moments that equal and sometimes even top the lofty heights of The Lord of the Rings .

Related: 10 Ways Peter Jackson's Hobbit Trilogy Is Worse Than Lord Of The Rings

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey's Prologue

The hobbit: an unexpected journey (2012).

When watching the Lord of the Rings movies in order , the first chronologically is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey . Often considered one of the better entries in The Hobbit trilogy, the film centers on the beginnings of Bilbo Baggins' journey to reclaim the Lonely Mountain with Thorin Oakenshield, his company of Dwarves, and Gandalf the Gray. Given the set-up of the journey, The Hobbit features a prologue not unlike that of The Fellowship of the Ring . Immediately, Jackson uses the prologue to transport viewers back into the world of Middle-earth.

Ian Holm returns as an older Bilbo Baggins with a brilliant monologue through the history of Erebor, the Dwarves, and other sections of Middle-earth like the Elves of the Woodland Realm. Accompanied by Howard Shore's beautiful score, the opening of T he Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey undoubtedly recaptures the magic of The Lord of the Rings. Not only this, but it does so in a way that adequately sets up the major races, characters, and locations of the forthcoming Hobbit trilogy.

Bilbo Hosting Thorin's Company In Bag End

Shortly after An Unexpected Journey 's prologue, Bilbo finds himself the unsatisfied host of Thorin's company in Bag End. This entire scene is fantastic from the performance of Martin Freeman as an exasperated yet endlessly polite Bilbo to the way every single dwarf is differentiated in both physical appearance and personality. The scene has its share of laughs and songs straight out of Tolkien's initial writings that make for a magical scene in The Shire often found in The Lord of the Rings before darkening the tone and establishing the film's titular adventure in a way that builds true wonder in a way only Middle-earth can.

Thorin’s Company Vs. The Three Trolls

After the journey begins, one of the film's best sequences showcases Thorin, Bilbo, and the Dwarves attempting to avoid being eaten by three Trolls. The action sequence that begins the scene in which the Dwarves charge in to save Bilbo accompanied by Shore's bombastic score is suitably exciting before the main characters are captured. Hereafter, Bilbo begins to show his worth. By manipulating the Trolls' simple minds and biding time for Gandalf to dispatch them, the scene encapsulates Freeman's performance, Jackson's gleeful wit in his writing, and a brilliant ending that sets up a neat Easter egg from The Fellowship of the Ring.

Gandalf’s “Why Bilbo Baggins” Speech

While The Hobbit movies are regarded as not being as strongly written as The Lord of the Rings , several scenes shine through in which Jackson - along with his fellow writers, Phillippa Boyens and Fran Walsh - reach the heights of the latter that made them so well-received. One such scene comes when Galadriel questions Gandalf on his choice to bring Bilbo along on his journey. Gandalf's reply is simply beautiful and emulates the best messages of Tolkien's world, that being that anyone capable of love and kindness can do amazing things that provide even the strongest of men, or wizards in Gandalf's case, with unwavering courage.

Biblo & Gollum's Riddles In The Dark

Undoubtedly the best scene in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and perhaps the entire trilogy is Gollum's interaction with Bilbo beneath the Misty Mountains. Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis are both pitch-perfect in the scene, playing off each other with ease through fantastic dialogue. Serkis brings the iconic character of Gollum to life once again in a way that exemplifies the sheer brilliance of the character, managing to switch between the villainous Gollum and playful Sméagol effortlessly. Riddles in the Dark is a masterclass in dialogue-driven scenes and how to construct them that even culminates in a universe-altering plot point: Bilbo obtaining the Ring of Power.

Meeting Beorn The Skin-Changer

The hobbit: the desolation of smaug (2013).

Despite the character of Beorn being sidelined in The Hobbit movies, his introduction is great. The Desolation of Smaug , The Hobbit trilogy's second film, opens with Gandalf, Bilbo, and the Dwarves seeking refuge in the house of Beorn, a skin-changer. The scene is another standout of The Hobbit trilogy with the back-and-forth between Beorn, who hates Dwarves, and Thorin, who trusts none outside his company, making for an intriguing dynamic. What's more, the filmmaking techniques on display to differentiate the four different sizes of race - hobbit, dwarf, wizard, and Beorn - are overwhelmingly impressive with the scene expertly kickstarting the second film in a memorable way.

Bilbo Fighting The Spiders Of Mirkwood

After Beorn sends the Dwarves off to Mirkwood, they eventually are captured by a nest of spiders in the dark woods. The only person left unscathed is Bilbo who rescues the Dwarves in a way that further proves his credentials, his bravery, and growing skill as a warrior rather than the timid Hobbit of the first film. The designs of the spiders are suitably unnerving and make the scene one of the franchise's scariest, even reaching the heights of Shelob's lair from The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King .

The scene also furthers Bilbo’s connection to the One Ring. The Ring allows him to hear the spiders and save his friends mostly unscathed, resulting in a disturbing scene in which Bilbo brutalizes a baby spider he deems a threat to his precious. This all results in a brilliant action sequence involving Dwarves, spiders, and Elves that sees the return of the iconic Legolas and proves that The Desolation of Smaug’ s Mirkwood scenes are some of The Hobbit ’s very best.

The Halls Of The Woodland Realm

The return of Legolas leads the Dwarves and Bilbo to the Woodland Realm, the Elven kingdom of Thranduil. While the Woodland Realm scenes are often overshadowed by what follows, they consist of some of The Hobbit 's best moments that emulate The Lord of the Rings . While still portrayed with an ethereal air, the Woodland Elves are much more Earthly than the Elves shown in Lord of the Rings . This results in a perfect marriage of mythological elegance and woodland, tellurian beauty that no other Elves in any Middle-earth film are shown to possess.

The endless scope and wide-reaching shots used to depict the Woodland Realm are nothing short of the franchise's best. Furthermore, Howard Shore composed some of his best music across all six films, specifically the "Feast of Starlight" track during Kili and Tauriel's conversation. All of this combines to make the Woodland Realm truly memorable in the way The Lord of the Rings did for that trilogy's various locations.

Barrels Out Of Bond

After Thorin's company escapes the Woodland Realm, one of The Hobbit trilogy's most inventive action sequences begins. The Dwarves and Bilbo floating down the river pursued by Elves and Orcs that also come into conflict make for expertly-directed chaos. The scene features several long takes of action that flow between the Dwarves fighting for their lives against the river and their pursuers and the Elves proving why they are the best combatants in Middle-earth. From a blocked gate to forceful rapids, the different styles of the elegant elves, resourceful Dwarves, and brutish Orcs are captured to perfection in one of the most memorable, best-directed action sequences in The Hobbit trilogy.

The Desolation Of Smaug’s Third Act

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 's third act is packed with several fantastic moments, meaning the entire last 45–60 minutes reach the heights of The Lord of the Rings . As soon as Bilbo enters Erebor to search for the Arkenstone, the second Hobbit film kicks into some of the franchise's best scenes. The crowning jewel of these is Bilbo's bargaining with Smaug the dragon. The CGI used to bring Smaug to life - as well as Benedict Cumberbatch's fantastic mocap and booming voice performance - is some of the best ever utilized in a Hollywood blockbuster even now, 10 years after the film's release.

Not only that but the scene itself is fantastically written. The back-and-forth between Bilbo, a tiny Hobbit, and Smaug, a gigantic dragon, includes some of the best dialogue in the entire franchise. The palpable tension built is amazing which culminates in Bilbo and the Dwarves fighting for their lives against a rageful Smaug. This ends with a tantalizing cliffhanger in which Smaug flies off to Laketown which, at the time, heralded in the agonizing wait for 2014's The Battle of the Five Armies .

Smaug’s Attack On Laketown

The hobbit: the battle of the five armies (2014).

Just as Smaug's ending sequences in The Desolation of Smaug were amazing, so too was the dragon's assault on Laketown that opened The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Once again, Jackson directs the sequence with the eye for sweeping action sequences he perfected during The Lord of the Rings. The CGI of Smaug and his ensuing destruction is perfect by WETA Digital as is Jackson's ability to direct the action in a way that keeps every disparate character in focus without devolving into uncontrolled chaos. This culminates in Bard taking down Smaug, an incredibly satisfying moment that kicks the third Hobbit movie off with a notable high point.

The White Council Vs. The Necromancer & The Nazgul

The biggest connections between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are found in the former's Necromancer sequences. Gandalf's investigation of the sorcerer who becomes Sauron directly sets up the sequel trilogy while also providing some brilliant scenes. The White Council of Elrond, Galadriel, and Saruman freeing Gandalf and facing off against the Nazgul is amazing and blends the worlds of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings together perfectly.

The Build-Up To The Battle Of The Five Armies

While the titular battle itself falls somewhat short of Jackson's Lord of the Rings conflicts, the same cannot be said for the build-up. Jackson expertly positions four different armies - the Elves, Men, Dwarves, and Orcs - with ease, giving each race a reason for fighting with fantastic dialogue scenes that explore the politics of the situation. Not only that but the setting of the board subliminally provides an overview of the battle's geography for the chaos that follows. The tension builds up scene by scene until, as Tolkien's chapter title aptly puts it - the clouds burst in a storm of swords and arrows.

Thorin Oakenshield’s Death

The third Hobbit movie's biggest problem is its focus on bombastic action over character-driven emotion, yet Thorin Oakenshield's death goes a long way to fix this issue. The relationship built across three movies between Bilbo and Thorin comes to a head, with the emotion being expertly sold by the fantastic Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage. The scene injects the film with a much-needed dose of emotional weight by two actors at the top of their game and the ever-present messaging of Tolkien's lessons conveyed through Jackson, Boyens, and Walsh's dialogue.

The Battle Of The Five Armies’ Ending

The ending of The Battle of the Five Armies rounds The Hobbit trilogy off on a satisfying note. The epilogue of Bilbo's journey hits emotionally given the excellent three-film portrayal of Martin Freeman and the return of Ian Holm. To top it all off, The Battle of Five Armies ' ending scene is a recreation of The Fellowship of the Ring 's opening that expertly bridges the gap between the two stories in a way that proves that, at times, The Hobbit trilogy is just as worthy of praise as Jackson's more-revered sister series.

15 Times The Hobbit Movies Were Just As Good As Lord Of The Rings

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Anticlimax Boss : Given the Great Goblin is enormous and intimidating (almost as big as a Troll), an epic fight between him and Gandalf seems likely when he blocks the party while they're on the verge of escaping from Goblin town. Thanks to Gandalf, an Eye Poke from his staff and Glamdring , the Great Goblin goes down easily .
The stick insect on Radagast's tongue.
The Goblin King's impromptu song performance in the extended edition.
The stone giant sequence. For anyone who doesn't remember the short passage it was adapted from, it seems even more so, as unlike the trolls and spiders there's zero explanation given for the giants. In the commentary Peter Jackson even says "I wonder what they're fighting about?"
Crosses the Line Twice : The Goblin King's corpse crashing down on top of the party after they just narrowly escaped the goblins.
A scene in the extended edition has Kíli jokingly flirt with an Elven woman before assuring the others he's not really into their kind. Come The Desolation of Smaug , he falls for Tauriel.
Thranduil's screentime in the prologue is minimal, but fandom nonetheless went nuts.
Gollum's scene is frequently cited as the best part of the film.
The Necromancer has only one scene, but what a scene it is .
Pandering to the Base : The Adaptation Expansion of The Hobbit into an epic three-part prequel setting up The Lord of the Rings with added action scenes, LOTR characters and other Continuity Nods , and subplots only loosely based on the later books has led to accusations of this, from those who would have preferred something closer to the simpler, less complicated book - which can be taken as a standalone tale while the films, by design, cannot be. For the first film, the sticking points include the Azog and White Council subplots, as well as old Bilbo and Frodo's cameos.
Portmanteau Couple Name : Via a Heartwarming Moment involving a Man Hug and the sentence, "I have never been so wrong in all my life" between Bilbo and Thorin, spawned a veritable army of Thorin/Bilbo fangirls who immediately dubbed the pairing "Thilbo", "Bagginshield", or, most properly, "Thilbo Bagginshield".
Slow-Paced Beginning : Because this first film is quite faithful to the book (at the beginning, at least), the first act of the film is spent with several flashbacks involving the dwarves and Smaug, and the entire sequence of the unexpected party at Bag End, with bland exposition. Because of that, it takes 40 minutes for Bilbo to finally leave the Shire and set out on his journey with Gandalf and the dwarves.
Sting's blue glow is inconsistently applied during the final battle with Azog.
Pay attention during the unexpected party. Dwalin punks Óin by pouring ale down his ear trumpet. Óin deals with it by blowing the ale out. With his mouth.
Bilbo being mistaken for a troll's hanky and subsequently ending up Covered in Gunge .
As if the goblins weren't disgusting enough, the Great Goblin orders Thorin and company to be searched in every crack and crevice .
The Great Goblin's throne doubles as a toilet. His actor describes him as "grossly incontinent".
The Great Goblin's beard of neck fat .
Azog's iron prosthetic is just stuck through his arm and pokes out on the other side.
Gollum flips between adorable and terrifying constantly, especially when he's struggling to come up with answers to Bilbo's riddles. (In other words, between Sméagol and Gollum ...)
A lot of the goblins as well, like the Goblin King's tiny secretary. Having similar character designs to the goblins in Labyrinth doesn't hurt.
While the film's many battle scenes, vistas, and creatures are undeniably impressive, a very subtle one qualifies too. Saruman may have met and talked with the white council, but Sir Ian McKellen revealed that Sir Christopher Lee wasn't on set at all during filming; all his shots were filmed in England, then spliced in afterwards. Considering how natural his interactions are with the others, it's an impressive achievement.
Gollum and the Goblin King are both incredible achievements in motion capture technology, similar to Gollum’s impact on the technology in 2002. But the real star is Azog, who is on the same level as those two, and whose screentime was all done in 4 weeks!
Smaug's eye opening at the end. Everything about it, from the pupil contracting in the light to the inner eyelid sliding back, is incredibly well-made.

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Here Are All Riddles Asked in 'The Hobbit' (With Answers)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was the first movie in The Hobbit trilogy, which is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movie follows Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit from the Shire, who Gandalf chooses to help a group of Dwarves that want to reclaim their long-lost kingdom, Erebor. Doubted by many, and himself also, Bilbo's adventure with the Dwarves began, and on that journey, he ...
What are the 9 Riddles Gollum Asked Bilbo in The Hobbit?
The Hobbit Riddles of the Man, Fish and the Cat. Riddle: No-legs lay on one-leg, Two-legs sat near on three-legs, Four-legs got some. By Bilbo. Answer: Fish on a little table, man at table sitting on a stool, the cat has the bones.
All The Hobbit Riddles and Answers Asked by Gollum and Bilbo In Order
Asked by Gollum. Answer: Fish. 8. Asked by Bilbo. No-legs lay on one-leg, two legs sat near on three legs, four legs got some. Answer: Fish on a little one-legged table, man at table sitting on a three-legged stool, the cat gets the bones. 9. Asked by Gollum. And beats high mountain down.
Subjects: What are the riddles that Gollum asked Bilbo in The Hobbit
You'll also find riddles in Rumpelstiltskin and Die Hard with a Vengeance. (Well, okay — that last one is actually a movie, but the riddle scene is really, really nerve-wracking!) In The Hobbit, Bilbo and Gollum test their wits. If Bilbo wins, then Gollum has to show him the way out of a tunnel; if Bilbo loses, he becomes Gollum's dinner. Yum.
All Ten Riddles from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey + Answers
The plot in first edition of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien actually says that Gollum bets the ring during this riddle-battle. But in the second edition, Tolkien wanted to show how the Ring has changed Gollum, and wanted this way, as we see in the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Lets jump to Riddles in the Dark now! Do let ...
Riddle-game
Bilbo engages Gollum in a riddle-game, as portrayed in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The Riddle-game was an ancient game which was played by Bilbo Baggins and Gollum in Gollum's cave whereupon they struggled for dominance against one another, as recounted in the fifth chapter of The Hobbit.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Information. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first part of Peter Jackson 's The Hobbit film trilogy and it is based on J.R.R. Tolkien 's 1937 novel The Hobbit, although some elements are taken from the story and The Appendices of The Lord of the Rings. It was released on 14 December 2012 in North America.
The Hobbit Chapter 1: An Unexpected Journey Summary & Analysis
Gandalf, an old man who wears a grey cloak and carries a staff, is famous among hobbits. He was friends with Old Took, but hasn't been by The Hill since Took's death. Bilbo, doesn't recognize Gandalf, but greets him; Gandalf tells Bilbo that he is looking for someone to accompany him on an adventure.
The Hobbit: Bilbo & Gollum's Riddles Were Inspired by Norse Mythology
When Bilbo is separated and lost under the Misty Mountains, he comes across Gollum's dark cave, where the creature sat for hundreds of years with the One Ring.Titled "Riddles in the Dark," It's easily one of the most memorable moments in the book and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.In order to secure his escape, Bilbo agrees to a game of Riddles with Gollum, betting that if he wins, he'll be ...
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first film of The Hobbit film trilogy, lasting 3 hours and 2 minutes. It was directed by Peter Jackson, who previously had directed The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. It was a major box office success, grossing over $1.017 billion worldwide. The film is the fourth Middle-earth film adaptation to be released, and the first chronologically. Martin ...
Can You Solve These Seven Riddles Inspired By The Hobbit
The third installment in The Hobbit trilogy debuts this week. We're celebrating with brainteasers inspired by the riddles exchanged between Gollum and Bilbo in the fifth chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien ...
Riddle-game
The ensuing Riddle-Game is skipped, although Bilbo still spares Gollum. 2012: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Bilbo falls down a chasm whilst fighting a Goblin At the same time the other dwarves were facing the Great Goblin. Gollum first appears euphoric as he comes across the dying goblin.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Bilbo's first riddle. (Without
Answer: https://youtu.be/WlIqu0PkXJIThirty white horses on a red hill First they champ Then they stamp Then they stand still.Playlist The Hobbit and The Lord...
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a 2012 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, ... Bilbo finds himself confronted by Gollum. They play a riddle game, wagering that Bilbo will be shown the way out if he wins or eaten by Gollum if he loses. Bilbo wins via trickery, and ...
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Bilbo's second riddle. (Without
Answer: https://youtu.be/CnEdAD2RVlwA box without hinges Key or lidYet golden treasureInside is hid.Playlist The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: https://ww...
PDF THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
The moth FLUTTERS into the face of curly-haired hobbit BILBO BAGGINS. The puff of smoke wakes him from his reverie. He notices a grey figure standing in front of him. WIDE ON: The wizard GANDALF THE GREY stands before Bilbo's ... SUPER: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY 8 INT. KITCHEN - BAG END - NIGHT 8 CLOSE ON: Two fish SIZZLE on a frying pan. ANGLE ON ...
40+ Bilbo and Gollum Riddles to Boost Brain with The Hobbit Fantasy
A. He checks his pocket while answering Gollum's riddles. To his surprise, he finds out a ring in his pocket. Q. I am a hobbit, hiding inside the darkness. I promised myself to recover 'the one ring .'Which character am I? A. Gollum the Stoorish Hobbit. Q. Existing without breathing, as cold as the arms of death.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Film)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first film in the three-part cinematic adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novel The Hobbit, directed by Peter Jackson and adapted for the screen by Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.It is a prequel to Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, telling the story of eponymous hobbit Bilbo Baggins's (Martin Freeman) adventure with the wizard ...
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the 2012 epic fantasy adventure film and the first installment in The Hobbit motion picture trilogy based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. It tells the tale of Bilbo and his journey to the Lonely Mountain with Thirteen Dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf the Grey, to reclaim the treasure stolen by Smaug the ...
Movies Quiz: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts. 1. The backstory of "The Unexpected Journey" centres on the once great Dwarven kingdom of Erebor. King Thror's love of gold was legendary, but his most treasured possession was the Arkenstone, a brilliant gem found deep in the heart of the mountain.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Bilbo Baggins is swept into a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous ...
15 Times The Hobbit Movies Were Just As Good As Lord Of The Rings
Key moments in "The Hobbit" films include the prologue of "An Unexpected Journey," Bilbo hosting Thorin's company in Bag End, and Bilbo's riddles with Gollum in "An Unexpected Journey."
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey / YMMV
Bilbo being mistaken for a troll's hanky and subsequently ending up Covered in Gunge. As if the goblins weren't disgusting enough, the Great Goblin orders Thorin and company to be searched in every crack and crevice. The Great Goblin's throne doubles as a toilet. His actor describes him as "grossly incontinent".

What are the 9 Riddles Gollum Asked Bilbo in The Hobbit?

The Riddle of the Mountain

Hobbit Riddles Teeth

The Riddle of the Wind

The Riddle of the Sun on Daisies

The Riddle of the Dark

The Riddle of an Egg

The Riddle of the Fish

The Hobbit Riddles of the Man, Fish and the Cat

The Riddle of Time

Sneaky Question!

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Further reading

100 Best Riddles with Answers for Kids and Adults

30 Tricky Number Riddles and Answers for Smart People

55 Hard Riddles with Answers for Kids and Adults

75 Logic Riddles with Answers that Will Blow Your Mind

Word Riddles: 90+ Word Games to Test Your Brain

90 Best Short Riddles with Answers

150 Best Riddles for Adults with Answers

100 Easy Riddles (with a Twist) Anyone Can Solve

75 Best Riddles for Teens with Answers that are Fun

100 Good Riddles for Kids and Adults (with Answers)

150 Best Funny Riddles for Kids and Adults (with Answers)

75 Most Interesting Riddles for Kids that are Fun

55 Tricky Riddles for Kids to Keep Them Guessing

70 Fun School Riddles Your Kids Will Love

55 Best What is it Riddles for Kids and Adults

75 Best Bible Riddles for Kids and Adults

55 Best What Am I Riddles to Keep You Guessing

55 Best Math Riddles with Answers that are Fun

All The Hobbit Riddles and Answers Asked by Gollum and Bilbo In Order

The Hobbit Riddles With Answers

Did Bilbo Cheat in the Riddles?

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The Hobbit: How Bilbo and Gollum's Riddles Were Inspired By Norse Mythology

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

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Can You Solve These Seven Riddles Inspired By The Hobbit ?

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

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