'Subtle and quick to anger'

Attalus · 12-05-2004, 12:33 PM

This is a duplicate thread to one that I posted at SF-Fandom. Always interesting to compare responses.

Odd word, subtle. Its meanings are quite varied but are subtly interrelated. The American Heritage dictionary gives these definitions:

sub·tle
adj. sub·tler, sub·tlest

1a. So slight as to be difficult to detect or describe; elusive: a subtle smile.
b. Difficult to understand; abstruse: an argument whose subtle point was lost on her opponent.
2. Able to make fine distinctions: a subtle mind.

3. Characterized by skill or ingenuity; clever.
4a. Crafty or sly; devious.
b. Operating in a hidden, usually injurious way; insidious: a subtle poison.

Which definition do you think that JRRT waas meaning when he had Gildor say : "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger?"

I favor a combination: 1b, 2 and 3, with a touch of 4a, especially in Saruman's case. What do you think?

12-05-2004, 12:33 PM	#1
Attalus Swan-Knight of Dol Amroth Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: On the Bay of Belfalas Posts: 1,125	'Subtle and quick to anger' This is a duplicate thread to one that I posted at SF-Fandom. Always interesting to compare responses. Odd word, subtle. Its meanings are quite varied but are subtly interrelated. The American Heritage dictionary gives these definitions: sub·tle adj. sub·tler, sub·tlest 1a. So slight as to be difficult to detect or describe; elusive: a subtle smile. b. Difficult to understand; abstruse: an argument whose subtle point was lost on her opponent. 2. Able to make fine distinctions: a subtle mind. 3. Characterized by skill or ingenuity; clever. 4a. Crafty or sly; devious. b. Operating in a hidden, usually injurious way; insidious: a subtle poison. Which definition do you think that JRRT waas meaning when he had Gildor say : "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger?" I favor a combination: 1b, 2 and 3, with a touch of 4a, especially in Saruman's case. What do you think? __________________ "What song the Sirens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, though puzzling questions are not beyond conjecture." - Sir Thomas Browne, Urn Burial. Last edited by Attalus : 12-05-2004 at 12:39 PM.