# Flotsam and Jetsam



## Amrod (Jan 12, 2004)

I'm new and am currently reading The Two Towers...When I was reading the chapter "Flotsam and Jetsam", I noticed they didnt even use the word Jetsam...I did a search on it, but couldnt find anything...just wondering if you guys could tell me what it is. Thanks


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## grendel (Jan 12, 2004)

They are nautical terms.... flotsam is the part of a shipwreck or cargo that floats on the water; jetsam refers to the parts that sink and are washed ashore.


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## Greenwood (Jan 12, 2004)

From the Random House Webster's dictionary:



> flotsam -- the part of the wreckage of a ship and its cargo found floating on the water
> 
> jetsam -- goods that are cast overboard deliberately, as to lighten or stabilize a vessel in an emergency, and that sink where jettisoned or are washed ashore.



So I suppose technically the only "jetsam" (in the sense of being thrown overboard intentionally) was the palantir that Wormtongue threw from the sinking ship of Saruman's plans and ambitions.


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## Amrod (Jan 26, 2004)

*ahhh*

Thanks for clearing that up...I was expecting them to be little hobbit like characters that were left out of the movies. I didnt even think to look them up in the dictionary


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## Sarde (Jan 26, 2004)

I thought the same when I first read the title of the chapter. I thought 'Flotsam and Jetsam' were beings of some sort.  In my dictionary it says under 'flotsam and jetsam':

'rubbish, homeless people, outcasts'

I guess the latter two terms could be applicable to Saruman, although he is not technically homeless.


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