[The Saucepan Man]

My thoughts about the symbolic portent of 'maggot' were slightly different than yours, Sauce. I thought of Farmer Maggot's courage and refusal to be cowed by the Black Rider. Maggot eradicates the stench of fear.

Yes, I did get your drift Bb, and I think that you may have a point. I was just taking the idea one step further (probably too far). Looks like davem has come up with the original basis for Tolkien's use of the name, although I wonder if there is a reason (such as that which Bb suggests) why he didn't change it with the change in the character's nature.

Have to say these words didn't register on me in the same way, as both of them were in my childhood, & to an extent still are

Yes, I wondered whether they might still be in use in some parts of the UK. However, they are not words that I have come across before (other than on previous reads of this chapter). The definition of "mending" that you suggest make sense as the Maggots' farmhouse seems the type of place where the fire would be kept going all day and stoked up when necessary.