Orc haute couture

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

I prefer to think they are - can't see Sam and Frodo as little Buffalo Bills (not the western hero...)

Well, the armies of brigands that troubled France throughout the 14th century were known as écorcheurs ('skinners' or 'flayers of dead bodies'), and they were very reminiscent of Orcs (or vice versa). so when Tolkien refers to "long hairy breeches of some unclean beast-fell", they could have very well come from Uncle Shagrat's leathery loins.