[The Saucepan Man]

I repeat my earlier question.

The text notwithstanding, how come so may people (including those who have since become non-wingers) imagine the Balrog to have wings when they first read this passage?

Personally, where there is any ambiguity, I tend to place the greater value on instinctive reader reaction (my own in particular) than I do on cold logical analysis after the event.