Orcs... were elves?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Galin

I stumbled across an interesting note from the 1930s -- the early-ish decade being notable here because we are still well enough away from a finished, published The Lord of the Rings (1954, 1955), in which a huge orc-chieftain (who arguably must be an uruk given a previous statement) is almost man-high -- as the list notes...

'... sometimes translated 'goblins' but they were of nearly human stature.' JRRT, 1930s wordlist, The Lost Road And Other Writings

In a letter from 1954, Tolkien described them as "squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes".
Letters #210

"Squat" is a relative term, of course. I note how close that description is to this one of the drûgs:

They were stumpy (some four foot high) but very broad....their wide faces had deep-set eyes with heavy brows, and flat noses, and grew no hair below their eyebrows....Their features were usually impassive, the most mobile being their wide mouths.....

UT The Drúedain

There are differences in the descriptions, sure. There are also a lot of similarities.

One thing interesting about the Orcs is the apparent lack of facial hair. With Men and Dwarves it was very common, and even Círdan of the Teleri had a beard when seen by members of the Fellowship at the Havens.

Drûgs (and Hobbits), however, shared the trait of being smooth-faced with Orcs. Coincidence?