'Run off into the Blue' - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Mithalwen · 03-26-2007, 06:25 AM

Well they do .. but I suspect that it was a phrase older than military aviation - which was barely twenty years old at the time of the Hobbit .... of course ships would have gone of into the blue as well...disappearing where the blue of the sky met the blue of the sea...

Edit: I looked this up in Brewers' last night and no joy

.. Maybe you are right adn I need the 20th Century edition... but it just "feels" that it has been around for ever ..further back than WW1... but that could just be me...

William Cloud Hicklin · 03-26-2007, 07:13 AM

As an old Navy man, I can testify that very frequently the horizon is lost in a bluish haze, into which ships 'disappear' long before they would go hull-down on a clear day.

Elmo · 03-26-2007, 11:37 AM

That's magic, I've always lived in sight of the sea and my grandfather was a sailor. I have always had an affinity for it. I suppose it is one of the things I love about Tolkien is the theme of the sea in his works. Ah! this reminds me of a Colin Rudd original I've discovered... The Coast is My Commander Enjoy!

Rumil · 03-27-2007, 01:20 PM

Hi all,

I've heard that the British forces in the North African desert campaign often referred to going into the desert at going 'into the Blue' and that 'the Blue' became the nickname for the desert. I guess JRRT could have picked up this usage from his son, who was stationed in the Middle East, but the timing seems wrong for the Hobbit quote.

Cheers,

Farael · 03-27-2007, 09:32 PM

Well, having learned English as a second language, I believe that somewhere or another, I learned that "going off into the blue" meant "going away, into the unknown".

And as anything I learned from my English books, odds are it's a very antiquated and odd way of speaking, that Tolkien as a great scholar, knew and used.

03-26-2007, 06:25 AM	#1
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,461	Well they do .. but I suspect that it was a phrase older than military aviation - which was barely twenty years old at the time of the Hobbit .... of course ships would have gone of into the blue as well...disappearing where the blue of the sky met the blue of the sea... Edit: I looked this up in Brewers' last night and no joy .. Maybe you are right adn I need the 20th Century edition... but it just "feels" that it has been around for ever ..further back than WW1... but that could just be me... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace

03-26-2007, 11:37 AM	#3
Elmo Pittodrie Poltergeist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: trying to find that warm and winding lane again Posts: 633	That's magic, I've always lived in sight of the sea and my grandfather was a sailor. I have always had an affinity for it. I suppose it is one of the things I love about Tolkien is the theme of the sea in his works. Ah! this reminds me of a Colin Rudd original I've discovered... The Coast is My Commander Enjoy! __________________ As Beren looked into her eyes within the shadows of her hair, The trembling starlight of the skies he saw there mirrored shimmering.

03-27-2007, 01:20 PM	#4
Rumil Sage & Onions Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Britain Posts: 894	The Blue Hi all, I've heard that the British forces in the North African desert campaign often referred to going into the desert at going 'into the Blue' and that 'the Blue' became the nickname for the desert. I guess JRRT could have picked up this usage from his son, who was stationed in the Middle East, but the timing seems wrong for the Hobbit quote. Cheers, __________________ Rumil of Coedhirion

03-27-2007, 09:32 PM	#5
Farael Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: In hospitals, call rooms and (rarely) my apartment. Posts: 1,538	Well, having learned English as a second language, I believe that somewhere or another, I learned that "going off into the blue" meant "going away, into the unknown". And as anything I learned from my English books, odds are it's a very antiquated and odd way of speaking, that Tolkien as a great scholar, knew and used. __________________ I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.

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03-26-2007, 07:13 AM	#2
William Cloud Hicklin Loremaster of Annúminas Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,330	As an old Navy man, I can testify that very frequently the horizon is lost in a bluish haze, into which ships 'disappear' long before they would go hull-down on a clear day.