The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Location
In the form of 'Neekerbreekers', these animals were especially common in and around the Midgewater Marshes, eastward of Bree
Species
Any of about nine hundred species in the family Gryllidae
Meaning
From Old French criquer, to creak or rattle (relating to the insect's sound)
Other names
Neekerbreekers were crickets or close relations

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About this entry:

  • Updated 7 January 2014
  • This entry is complete

Crickets

Insects of a kind related to grasshoppers, known for their loud nocturnal chirping. There were creatures of cricket kind - described as 'evil relatives of the cricket'1 - living in the marshes of Midgewater. Their nightly refrain of neek-breek, breek-neek kept Frodo and his companions from sleep as they crossed the marshes, leading Sam Gamgee to give them the name 'Neekerbreekers'.


Notes

1

The Fellowship of the Ring I 11, A Knife in the Dark

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 January 2014
  • This entry is complete

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