Gollum questions.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by jallanite

Yet when King Théoden first meets the Hobbits and recognizes them as “Halflings”, Pippin corrects him, saying, “Hobbits, if you please, lord. Or perhaps Pippin is correcting the term “Holbytlan” that Théoden also uses.

That seems to me to have been indeed just a minor correction to Théoden's "Holbytlan". At any rate, Pippin shows no sign of being affronted.