39 Best 'The Hobbit' Quotes (Or There and Back Again)

'The Hobbit' is undoubtedly one of the most popular children's books in literature by J.R.R Tolkien.

It records the adventures of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who sets out on a quest to win treasure which is guarded by Smaug the dragon. It is a story of personal growth, strength, maturity, and courage; all of which Bilbo acquires in this episodic quest.

'The Hobbit' is a standalone book (not part of a 'The Hobbit' series), but it can be understood as a prequel to 'The Lord Of The Rings' series. It can be read independently though, since the plotlines are quite different, you don't have to read 'The Hobbit' before reading 'The Lord Of The Rings' series. It has previously been banned several times as well, due to its discussion of satanic witchcraft, but it is still a very popular read. It is a single adventure book set in Middle Earth.

Here is a list of some of the best quotes from the novel. If you like our content, you can also check out other articles like these [Tolkien quotes] and ['Lord Of The Rings' quotes].

Are you looking for some iconic 'The Hobbit' book quotes? Check out this list.

1.  "No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it."

-Narrator, Chapter 12.

2. "There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something… You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after."

-Thorin, Chapter 4.

3. "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hold, and that means comfort."

-Narrator, Chapter 1.

4. "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

-Thorin, Chapter 18.

5. "Now is the time for Bilbo to perform the service for which he was included in our company; now is the time for him to earn his reward."

-Thorin, Chapter 12.

6. "Trolls simply detest the sight of dwarves (uncooked)."

-Narrator, Chapter 2.

7. "Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway."

-Narrator, Chapter 3.

8. "Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things."

-Narrator, Chapter 3.

9. "Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?"

-Gollum, Chapter 5.

10. "Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin’s Day will shine upon the key-hole."

-Elrond, Chapter 3.

11. "You have nice manners for a thief and a liar."

-Smaug, Chapter 4.

12. "And what would you do, if an uninvited dwarf came and hung his things up in your hall without a word of explanation?"

-Narrator, Chapter 1.

13. "The quiet was so deep that their feet seemed to thump along while all the trees leaned over them and listened."

-Narrator, Chapter 8.

14. "It seemed like all the way to tomorrow and over it to the days beyond."

-Narrator, Chapter 5.

15. "My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws pears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!"

-Smaug, Chapter 12.

16. "There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West."

-Thorin, Chapter 18.

Here is a list of quotes said about and by the protagonist Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.

17. "Every worm has his weak spot."

-Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 11.

18. "So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending!"

-Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 18.

19.  "Your lullaby would waken a drunken goblin!"

-Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 19.

20. "This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighborhood of The Hill for time out of mind..."

-Narrator, Chapter 1.

21. "This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected."

-Narrator, Chapter 1.

22. "Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick."

-Narrator, Chapter 1.

23. "Truly songs and tales fall utterly short of the reality, O Smaug the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities."

-Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 12.

24. "I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me…I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am barrel-rider."

-Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 12.

25. "Go back...Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!’ So up he got and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter."

-Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 5.

26. "Please don’t cook me, kind sirs! I am a good cook myself, and cook better than I cook, if you see what I mean."

-Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 2.

27. "Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.

Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them."

-'The Hobbit', Chapter 1.

28. "I come from under hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air, I am he that walks unseen… I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number… I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water."

-Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 12.

Gandalf was a powerful sorcerer in 'The Hobbit.' Here is a list of Gandalf quotes from 'The Hobbit' that all fans will love.

29. "May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks."

-Gandalf, Chapter 7.

30. "‘What do you mean?’ he said. ‘Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?’"

-Gandalf, Chapter 1.

31. "There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are all over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go."

-Gandalf, Chapter 7.

32. "What a lot of things you do use Good morning for!... Now you mean that you want to get rid of me and that it won’t be good till I move off."

-Gandalf, Chapter 1.

33. "He charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfimbul’s head clean off with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of Golf invented in the same moment."

-Narrator, Chapter 1.

34. "Gandalf thought of most things; and though he could not do everything, he could do a great deal for friends in a tight corner."

-Narrator, Chapter 4.

35. "Mr. Baggins has more about him than you guess."

-Gandalf, Chapter 6.

36. "I have chosen Mr. Baggins and that ought to be enough for all of you...There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself."

-Gandalf, Chapter 1.

37. "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations if you live near him."

-Gandalf, Chapter 12.

38. "Never you mind. I was finding things out, as usual; and a nasty dangerous business it was. Even I, Gandalf, only just escaped. I tried to save your father, but it was too late."

-Gandalf, Chapter 1.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 'The Hobbit' quotes from JRR Tolkien, then why not take a look at these [Gandalf quotes], or [Bilbo Baggins quotes] for more quotes from books?