XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien
From: le@main.lekno.ws
O. Sharp wrote:
> Louis Epstein writes:
>
>> When he assaulted Frodo on the slopes of Orodruin,
>> the text says Gollum had lost "his old griping strength".
>>
>> This has survived all revisions so apparently the word
>> choice is deliberate.
>>
>> But does it refer to grips or to gripes?
>
> The OED has "griping" with a few different, now mostly-obsolete uses:
> "grasps, or clutches tightly", for one. Like: "He seiz'd the shining Bough
> with griping hold" (1697). Another of its definitions indicates "Causing
> pain or distress, physical or mental", as "Oh grisly gripyng grief"
> (1577). I think either of these could safely fit with Gollum's (lack of)
> strength at this point, and we certainly know JRRT knew his OED and
> language history quite well. :)
I admit that I failed to consult my partial set of the OED 2nd
(rescued from the discard bin at a local recycling center by
someone who apparently never unloaded the rest) before posting
though I considered doing so...I do in fact have the relevant
volume (V) and from pages 849 ff. it appears that the distinction
between grips and gripes is not as clear as I had assumed. :)
> Though I admit I'm just as glad he didn't lean too much on the OED's
> _third_ obsolete definition of griping, "applied more or less spec. to
> spasmodic constricting pains in the bowels", as in 1732's "It excites
> Vomiting, sharp griping Pains, with wind in other Parts of the Bowels".
> That, I think, would have significantly muddled the focus of the scene,
> not to mention made it much less fun to read. :/
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> ohh@panix.com Ewwwwwwwwwwwww. I just haven't even got a
> joke to make here. :/
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