So, Tolkien famously used 'impertinent' to describe Nazi Germany's question regarding his ancestry:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Letters
I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride.
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He was even more blunt to Stanley Unwin:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Letters
Do I suffer this impertinence because of the possession of a German name, or do their lunatic laws require a certificate of arisch origin from all persons of all countries?
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"Impertinent and half-baked" indeed.
I'm not sure if this helps, though: what would be
in the request, other than racism, which doesn't really seem to fit the riddle?
hS