[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I've said before and I will say it again -- the Oxford English Dictionary is the best book ever written (and we of course all know that Tolkien helped with putting it together!)

I had a look through all the various uses of "buck" and found this fascinating entry:

Talk, conversation; spec. boastful, bragging talk; insolence; esp. in phrase old buck

Now what does this suggest about Gorhendad? That he was 'all talk' in a way? That his venture out of the Shire and onto the edge of the Wild is in some way mere bluster and braggadoccio? This might indicate that the supposed adventurousness of the Bucklanders is not so great as it appears: they hold themselves out as the great visionary adventure seekers by having crossed the River, and yet when they get there they set up hobbit holes, build a high hedge against the world, and burn back the Old Forest. In effect, they settle down and once more become very very hobbitty, bragging about how they have 'left' the Shire but retaining it with all their strength.

Oldbuck's journey then is in stark contrast to what our hobbits are doing -- as this chapter makes clear in its tone, they are already somewhat out of step with their homeland, already disconnected from it, since they are well and truly leaving. They aren't just living in the border region, but going past and beyond it.