Who on middle-earth is Lotho?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

I always thought it was a literary device used by Tolkien to remind us the reader just how parochial the hobbits were. Having moved into and out of a lot of smallish towns in my life, it is a common practice for people in such environs to start referencing people and events with no explanation because "everybody around here knows about them and here is all there is."

Could be. In Lotho's case though, his villainy did have a great effect on all the Shire, so the references to him obviously are more notable.

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Similar right down to having the same number of letters in the name and a double letter in the middle...

Well, Maggot (as far as we know) didn't have a daughter whom Sam happened to be sweet on, so...