Things of Middle-earth
Neekerbreekers
Type: Animals
Description:
Imaginary insects that inhabit the Midgewater Marshes, making nocturnal noise similar to crickets:
There were also abominable creatures haunting the reeds and tussocks that from the sound of them were evil relatives of the cricket. There were thousands of them, and they squeaked all round, neek-breek, breek-neek, unceasingly all the night, until the hobbits were nearly frantic.
The next day... was little better.... Though the Neekerbreekers (as Sam called them) had been left behind, the midges still pursued them.
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 1, Ch 11, A Knife in the Dark
Etymology
Neekerbreekers Invented insect-name; represent it by some L[anguage of] T[ranslation] invention of similar sound (supposed to be like that of a cricket).
"Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings", by J.R.R. Tolkien, in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, by Wayne G Hammond and Christina Scull
Contributors: Elena Tiriel 7Jul06, 14Mar10
