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The Long and the Short of It  by Gryffinjack 9 Review(s)
Elanor1013Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/29/2006
The end made me laugh! Great job. :)

Author Reply: Always happy to make someone laugh!

lotrgirl1415Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2006
HAHAHAHAHA poor Sam..

I loved this lil story! I hope you'll write stories like this one again soon!
--Katie

Author Reply: Poor Sam, indeed. He'll have a bit of explaining about working class hobbits to do.

It was fun to write some fluff for a change!

harrowcatReviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2006
To answer your response to my review.... I understood that the translation of Samwise means HALF-WISE. So anyone who knows him well would naturally only use the wise half of his name. I think that it is in the appendices somewhere but as it is 1am here I refer you to friend Larner's, The King's Commission

Author Reply: Ah, now I see where you were going. Sam is indeed very wise and well-named.

Thanks for your review!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2006
Thank you so much my dear! This did indeend bring a smile to my face, and I loved the explanations you came up with! They do make sense.

And I suppose I can imagince the conversation going to Sam, who would probably laugh and say "Rules about nicknames is for the gentry. The rest of us just says what's comfortable for us." *snerk*

But thank you again--I really did need some fluff!!

Author Reply: You are quite welcome! I'm so pleased to have brought a smile to your face and glad you enjoyed the explanations.

That is precisely what I was going for! The working class would have no use for rules about nicknames and would indeed use whatever name seemed fitting. But being gentlehobbits, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin would naturally think of the gentlehobbit rules when Boromir requested an explanation. They were only reminded that the working class did not follow those rules when Sam came back. No doubt they were surprised that they had forgot all about it.

You really have me curious as to the subject matter of the fic you are writing that drove you to need fluff, my dear! What could possibly be so angsty?

GamgeeFestReviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2006
LOL, I was just about to say those rules didn't quite cover everything. Not just Sam's nickname either, but all of the Cottons as well (and in Rosie's case, they made it longer!) Poor Sam, he has no idea why everyone is staring at him so. Maybe working class hobbits have different rules for nicknames - now that will *really* confuse Boromir! Those are some interesting rules you came up with. At least it explains why Frodo doesn't have a nickname, a question I've addressed once before myself (except my Frodo was called "Fro" by his mother).

Author Reply: You are quite right, the rules the cousins explained only pertain to gentlehobbit society. Being gentlehobbits themselves, it had not even occurred to them to explain that the working class did not follow the same rules, but rather gave such nicknames as seemed fitting. Yes, poor Boromir will be totally confused once they explain about that!

After reading fics by many different authors with so many different nicknames, I decided to have some fun and make up my own rules. I used the nickname "Fro" in one of my stories, All Is Well, but that was used by five-year-old Pippin and, of course, faunts would not use the established rules, but would use whatever names they found easiest.

shireboundReviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2006
I found this as educational as Boromir and Aragorn did! What a delightful story.

:D

Author Reply: The cousins would be pleased that you found their explanation was valuable. I'm glad you liked it!

AndreaReviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2006
Well, in Germany we say: "Ausnahmen bestätigen die Regel", which would be in English: exceptions acknowledge the rule! Sam's name seems to be such an exception.

I wonder if old Lobelia has a nickname and what it would be!

Author Reply: What a very nice saying that is! Sam's name is indeed an exception to the rules Frodo, Merry, and Pippin explained, but that is because they only thought to tell the rules of *their* society, which is that of gentlehobbits. The working class that Sam belongs to has a much simpler rule: if a nickname seems fitting, use it.

Lobelia - hmmm... you could make a case for it being either three or four syllables, so that would be a tricky one, but I'd love to see what people come up with for it!

harrowcatReviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2006
*g and waves fluff-buster at you* Great but not so fluffy as to drown in it. Boromir's memories save it from that. And as for Sam - well when one's full name is only half true it is better to use only half of it!

Author Reply: It may be fluffy, but I didn't want anyone to get a cavity from it. lol! Which part of Sam's name don't you think is true? He has his own, very hobbity sense of wisdom.

KittyReviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2006
*giggle*
This explanation was absolutely funny, although I doubt it's truly fitting for everyone. Much too easy. And it is certainly not fitting for Sam - with three syllabes he should have a nickname, not an abbrevation of Samwise, right? *eg*

Author Reply: Of course, that's the reason they all looked horrified, is that "Samwise" is only two syllables and therefore, Sam should not have had any nickname at all, and yet he does.

Glad you enjoyed it!

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