Another possibility came to mind, prompted by something I remembered Bilbo saying in
The Hobbit.
The quote from
ROTK that began this thread runs thus:
Quote:
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'Twice you have borne me, Gwaihir my friend,' said Gandalf. 'Thrice shall pay for all, if you're willing.'
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When telling the Dwarves he was willing to go back down the tunnel to see if Smaug was gone, Bilbo said:
Quote:
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"'While there's life there's hope!' as my father used to say, and 'Third time pays for all!'"
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The 'and' indicates the 'Third time' bit was another of Bungo's sayings. Might Gandalf not have been merely using a little phrase he picked up among those charming and absurd Hobbits, having no particular meaning behind it?