Linguistic puns, riddles, and jokes in LotR, etc.

[Guinevere]

I always wondered why the Mirkwood spiders were so enraged by Bilbo calling them "Attercop", since I know that "edderkopp" in Norwegian means simply spider.

Here's what I found in the internet:

At´ter`cop
n. 1. A spider.
2. A peevish, ill-natured person.

source: Thefreedictionary.com


attercop
"spider," O.E. attorcoppa, lit. "poison-head," from ator
"poison,"
from P.Gmc. *aitra- "poisonous ulcer" (cf. O.N. eitr, Ger. eiter) +
cop "top, summit, round head," probably also "spider". (cf cobweb)

source: Online Etymology Dictionary

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Guinevere

I always wondered why the Mirkwood spiders were so enraged by Bilbo calling them "Attercop", since I know that "edderkopp" in Norwegian means simply spider.

Here's what I found in the internet:

Hmmm...perhaps it's like calling a woman a 'broad'. Both are synonymous in the strictest sense, but I know of no woman who prefers to be called one.

I am at work, but I know there is a discussion regarding the term Attercop in The Annotated Hobbit. If no one has access to it, I'll look it up when I get home.