Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
It's the early Christmas present Hobbit fans have been waiting for. Peter Jackson's second
instalment in the movie trilogy has hit the big screen! Brace yourselves for The Desolation
of Smaug. Can we just check that's right?
I think it's Smaug.
Uh, it's Smaug.
It's Smaug. As in ouch.
Enjoy the A and the U. Smaaaauuug.
Okay, okay. Our mistake. Think we may need a bit of help from some world class Tolkien
experts on this one.
Yes. I'm blushing.
Step forward the cast of The Hobbit.
We all thought it was Smaug until it was designated that it was... While we were filming it was
decreed that it would be Smaug, and I don't know why. I don't know why. I think because
it just feels more chewy in the mouth. Smaug. It's a bit more sensuous than Smaug.
Just imagine a W in there, and it helps a lot. Smaug. Tauriel. It's Elven. It's the
Elvish language. That's how they pronounce... because those are Elvish words.
But how do we know it's pronounced like that?
You know, Tolkien is recorded saying Smaug, so yeah.
I think it comes from a German word, weirdly enough, which the guys in Berlin have no idea
what I'm talking about, but I think it means Smogen, which is an old word meaning to squeeze
through a very small hole, which I think it quite interesting for Smaug because that's
how he gets into the mountain, through a little small hole.
Smogen, but no one knows what smogen means so...
Well, there you have it, people. Top marks go to the delightful Richard Armitage, but
we're afraid bottom of the class is Ed Sheeran.
I don't know. People get stuff wrong. I used to call Hermione from Harry Potter Her-mee-own
for years, years. I was quite a simple child.