# Don't call him Sauron... why?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-him-sauron-why/215462>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 26, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-him-sauron-why/215462 "2003-11-26T22:23:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-him-sauron-why/215462/21 "2003-11-28T14:33:56Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \*  
> \*\*BTW, Gandalf’s refusal to use Black Speech is not just out of politeness – he deliberately doesn’t speak it in Hobbiton, for instance, when he’s alone with Frodo and there’s no question of “politeness.” \*\*

I was going to use that argument, and then I realised - since Frodo won’t understand the black speach, its perfectly sensible to translate it first. I think his explanation suggested it was more than that, but until I find that quote I can’t be sure.

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**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-him-sauron-why/215462/22 "2003-11-28T14:38:32Z")

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[hijack]  
**Shade** , it’s good that you and QtM made up. Otherwise you might be facing:

> [@](#):
>
> Qadgop the Mercotan slithered flatly around the afterbulge of the tranship. One claw dug into the meters-thick armor of pure neutronium, then another. Its terrible xmex-like snout locked on. Its zymolosely polydactile tongue crunched out, crashed down, rasped across. _Slurp! Slurp!_

[/hijack]

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**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-him-sauron-why/215462/23 "2003-11-28T19:15:59Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \*  
> \*\*I can’t quite picture the Dark Lord playing “rubba-rubba”. But you never know. \*\*

You know, that’s earned a pretty respectable ranking on my list of Things I Wish I’d Never Read… :eek:

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