Ah well my norse mythology isnt as strong a suit as perhaps it should be for a keen Tolkienista. i was fiiddling around with a to g and indeed the solfege notes but I was still thinking Middle earth so..... I dont think a overall clue is needed

Pomdering if Bronte country means Angria or Gondal. Or just Yorkshire!

Ah-haaa - keep thinking that way and you'll get that one. :)

The clues copied to the new page - with those already solved:

1. Finance loses note for the father of a lord.
2. Palindromic hobbit mingled initially with Radagast, before meeting destruction at the place where his erstwhile comrade finally fell.
3. We hear anger and noise in the quiet place, but note the direction.
4. Stop around a while for an (arguably) unjust moniker.
Oin (All-Father loses note for a debt-ridden dwarf (we hear)).
Nobottle (Teetotal Shire village).
7. A hostelry from Brontë country, we hear, inspired an unfinished demise.

Is it Fundin? Funding loses the G to become Balin's father.

Odo (Proudfoot) + R (Radagast's initial) + ruin (destruction) = Orodruin (where both Smeagol and Sauron finally fell).
Not sure where the erstwhile comrade comes into this though unless it's a reference to the kinship of the Hobbits and Smeagol's people.

Ah well I stymied myself thinking of pubs in Gondor (not a fruitful search) but with that encouragement I wonder if it is Gondolin which sounds like Gondal-inn.. and the fall of which is an Unfinished Tale?

And now I am in sound alike mode, I will try Rath Dinen for 3 Wrath and din, Rath dinen means IIRC the Silent Street but I can't quite get the last clause to fit.

4. Lathspell - halt mixed up and a spell (as in spell of bad weather) for a title that's not that false if you think about it.

Sorry for the delay. I think the website was down for a short time, and then I was too busy to look in.

I think that between you you've guessed them all, but I'll go through them one by one.

Perfectly correct.


Correct answer. As for the reasoning:

Odo, as you rightly point out, is a palindromic hobbit name (the only other hobbit palindrome I know of is Bob, one of Barliman's assistants). You are correct about mingling this with Radagast's initial and joining it with "ruin."

ERSTWHILE COMRADE / ODO:

It was a different Odo that I had in mind. ;)

- Orodruin was where FRODO finally fell to the power of the Ring.
- ODO was the prototype of MERRY in the early drafts of LOTR, where FRODO was the prototype of PIPPIN.
- So Frodo was the erstwhile comrade of Odo, either because Odo was the comrade of Bingo, the character who became Frodo, or because Odo was the comrade of Frodo, who started as Pippin but became the Frodo of the final, finished LOTR.

Indeed! Gondal Inn sounds the same as Gondolin. "Unfinished demise" because Tolkien never finished the Fall of Gondolin.

3. We hear anger and noise in the quiet place, but note the direction.

Your answer is correct. Rath Dinen is the Silent Street, and hence the quiet place. "Rath" sounds like "wrath" and "din" is "noise." Then add a note - E - and a direction - N.

Correct. "For a spell" means "for a while," although perhaps the phrase had its origin in weather terms. And Gandalf does often bring bad news, so one could argue that the moniker is just, even if it does seem mean (and is meant very meanly).

All of which gives us:

FUNDIN - Finance loses note for the father of a lord.
ORODRUIN - Palindromic hobbit mingled initially with Radagast, before meeting destruction at the place where his erstwhile comrade finally fell.
RATH DINEN - We hear anger and noise in the quiet place, but note the direction.
LATHSPELL - Stop around a while for an (arguably) unjust moniker.
OIN - All-Father loses note for a debt-ridden dwarf (we hear).
NOBOTTLE - Teetotal Shire village.
GONDOLIN - A hostelry from Brontë country, we hear, inspired an unfinished demise.

As I like composing cryptic clues, I actually have another couple of password puzzles all ready. Would you like me to post one of them, or would one of the winners like to do the next one?

Great clues Pervinca. I am not sure what the etiquette is now since the password is now obvious but Galadriel who solved the last clue hasn'tclaimed it.

That's what I was thinking. Will wait and see if Galadriel wants to post the next one before I post another one.

Well done everyone!

I guess if Pippin couldn't find one, no-one could ...

(... unless it was just Minas Tirith that didn't have them).

To be completely honest, I only guessed the last clue because I knew which letter it would start with, and I did not guess the password because I felt bad about stealing it. I haven't really done anything for this round, and I think others deserve to go more that I do.

And anyways I can't be trusted now to check regularly since my workload is growing taller by the hour... So I'm not going to come and claim anything. :)

OK, would Ardent or Mithalwen like to post one? Either of them could well have got the password had I been able to log on yesterday and confirm their answers.

I think it would have taken a while to get lathspell ..it was bugging me. but i could have a go because i should have time rather than because i feel entitled. I am happy to cede to Ardemy.

Well I'm happy for you to pose us the next riddle Mithalwrm (I presume "Ardemy" is a typo of Ardent: the M is next to the N and the Y to the T on the keyboard). I did the previous one and prefer to share the burden of deviousness which riddling requires :D .

But the first post on this thread states that the first one to state the password has the entitlement to the posting of the next password/set of clues, and gets to do so once all the rest of the clues have been solved, and that the guessed password can be used to help solve the remaining ones. FOR-ONG was pretty obvious, so I'd say both of you are more than entitled.

Ah I should pay more attention I characteristically grasped the stick firmly by the wrong end and thought it wasn't quite the thing to say the pass word if you hadn't finished it ..in my defence I think the last time I was involved in the thread the setter had dislocated the password sneakily to the other end of the answer which confuzzled me to the point I couldn't get it even when there were all the answers... however as my mama used to say... it DOES help if you read the destructions.

Ardent, forgive me, I was typing late at night on a grey Kindle screen and am in total denial that I may need specs. :o

OK well I shall try to post ASAP..

I thought the same, Mithalwen - I had guessed the Dwarrow one, but I thought we weren't allowed to say it until all the clues were solved. (Then Nerwen posted it and I read the first page again).

Again typing on kindle so while I will try hard to avoid typos....

1 Glimmer fractures around a sigh for lethal epesse.
2 Numenorean declares himself a blade.
3 Heart breaks and loses direction. No good follows here.
4 Dour and doomed standardbearer.
5 Highelven nightingale
6 I host Gail at place with broken spanner.
7 Elder Nan to Celebrimbor at least
8 Sounds like a cursed wand ranging in Ithilien

8. Damrod - a Ranger of Ithilien - damn + rod?

3. A ford and town named Tharbad?

Both correct. Well done.

5. Tinuviel?

Sorry no...

I thought that one sounded deceptively easy! :) (Unless it's Luthien).

1 Glimmer fractures around a sigh for lethal epesse.
2 Numenorean declares himself a blade.
Tharbad - Heart breaks and loses direction. No good follows here.
4 Dour and doomed standardbearer.
5 Highelven nightingale
6 I host Gail at place with broken spanner.
7 Elder Nan to Celebrimbor at least
Damrod - Sounds like a cursed wand ranging in Ithilien

Without looking at family trees, I'm going to guess that Nerdanel was one of Celebrimbor's grandmothers. And thinking about it, I think he is the son of one of Feanor's sons - Celegorm, I think. Nerdanel is an anagram of Elder Nan - very clever!

Giggles.... it might be even easier..

5. Lomelindi?
4. Halbarad?

I'm not in a very cryptic mood, evidently.

Luthien? (I added it in an edit). (And Nerdanel for No. 7).

Again both correct. This may ne done very quickly

Both of Galadriel's, or both of mine? (Or both of both of us?) ;)

Sorry cross posted with Pervinca. Lomelind quenya for Nightingale is correct though I suppose since Thingol did go to Valinor Luthien could be regarded as high elven but a bit of a technicality IMO

OK - so was Nerdanel correct?

Nerdanel which wasnt thee last time i looked is correct. Seems I tried too hard not to be obscure but momentum is fun too...

The key is to make the first one hard, I think. Which I think you've done quite successfully.

I wonder if it's Mithlond?

1 Glimmer fractures around a sigh for lethal epesse.
2 Numenorean declares himself a blade.
Tharbad - Heart breaks and loses direction. No good follows here.
Halbarad - Dour and doomed standardbearer.
Lomelind - Highelven nightingale
6 I host Gail at place with broken spanner.
Nerdanel - Elder Nan to Celebrimbor at least
Damrod - Sounds like a cursed wand ranging in Ithilien

6. Osgiliath?

I dont think any are particularly hard but when you get to the point of needing certain letters..

Yep anagram of the city where the bridge was broken...couldnt resist one of my punny clues

Yes it is Mithlond and are you editing a lot oar am i really unobservant?

Yes, I have been editing rather than double-posting - I added Osgiliath after Mithlond.

1 Glimmer fractures around a sigh for lethal epesse.
2 Numenorean declares himself a blade.
Tharbad - Heart breaks and loses direction. No good follows here.
Halbarad - Dour and doomed standardbearer.
Lomelind - Highelven nightingale
Osgiliath - I host Gail at place with broken spanner.
Nerdanel - Elder Nan to Celebrimbor at least
Damrod - Sounds like a cursed wand ranging in Ithilien

Ah the kindle browser doesnt show edits... i just thought I was losing the plot

Oh, I see ... actually I hadn't realised that you could also type/webbrowse/post on a Kindle. I just have a sort of Kindle package on my computer, downloaded for things that you can only get on Kindle.

2. Imrazôr?

Maybe not on all. i have a 3g keyboard version. not ideal but better than nothing . but not good for long posts.

imrazor is correct

1. Mormegil, the Black Sword?

Indeed..all done and dusted in three hours . Could be a record..