Trolls in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, unlike the monstrous trolls of folklore and J.R.R. Tolkien, have been subverted into a moderately civilised race. Trolls have grown to overcome those vicious stereotypes of yore and have lived very prosperous lives in heavily populated cities with (relatively) little killing, and have held jobs as diverse as police officer to concert promoter. They have also held jobs as "bridgekeepers," taxing those that cross their bridges. It is relatively harmless, although farmers in the company of billy goats have to pay a hefty tax. Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England[1]) is an English fantasy author, best known for his Discworld series. ... // This article is about the novels. ... Troll statue in the forest near Geilo, Norway A troll is a member of a fearsome humanoid race from Scandinavian folklore, and its predecessor Norse mythology, as in The Three Billy Goats Gruff [1], the well-known Scandinavian folk tale in which a troll living under a bridge torments some... Folklore is the body of verbal expressive culture, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population, comprising the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ... Three Billy Goats Gruff is a famous fairy tale of Scandinavian origin, in which three goats cross a bridge, under which is a fearsome troll who tries to prevent them from crossing it. ...

Though normally made of rock, Trolls can also be considered to be any creature which takes on the appearance and qualities of the environment that it was born in. The common mountain troll is therefore made of rock, but sea trolls are made of water, and Gnolls appear to be made of dirt (though nobody has enquired too closely yet).

Mountain Trolls

Mountain Trolls are made of "metamorphorical rock" (a play on metamorphic rock and metaphorical), which basically means that certain trolls take on the characteristics of certain stones and minerals, which they are usually named after. The most extreme example of this is the pitiful troll Brick in the novel Thud!, Ankh-Morpork born and bred, who took on the appearance of the man-made bricks of his city home. Some trolls are made of sedimentary rock and trolls who have taken the forms of more solid minerals are sometimes prejudiced against their sedimentary kin. On very rare occasions, a troll made of diamond is born. These trolls are vastly more intelligent than most trolls, as their reflective bodies allow them to ward off heat and regulate their internal temperature. A diamond troll is the indisputable king of the trolls. Quartzite, a form of metamorphic rock, from the Museum of Geology at University of Tartu collection. ... In language, a metaphor (from the Greek: metapherin rhetorical trope) is defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. ... Thud! is Terry Pratchetts 34th Discworld novel, released in the United States of America and the United Kingdom on September 13, and it may have been released already in other countries, such as Norway [1] and Denmark. ... Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which prominently features in Terry Pratchetts Discworld series of fantasy novels. ... Two types of sedimentary rock: limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... For with(out) prejudice in law, see Prejudice (law). ... // A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ...

The common Mountain Troll is nocturnal. Their natural tendency to spend daylight hours dormant led to the stories of them turning to stone when hit by the sun. Though apparently unintelligent, this is due to heat negatively affecting the conductivity of their brains, which operate in a similar fashion to computer circuits. In the coldness of the high mountain areas that they usually call home, they can, in certain respects, be quite clever. When sufficiently deep-frozen, they can perform exceptional mathematical feats, possibly involving quantum computing. A nocturnal animal is one that sleeps during the day and is active at night - the opposite of the human (diurnal) schedule. ... Molecule of alanine used in NMR implementation of error correction. ...

Rock and stone is also the natural diet of mountain trolls, and they have diamond teeth to enable this. Quartz is held to be unhealthy, as it "clogs the arteries", and ammonites are also avoided as a sign of the rock having gone stale. Trolls frequently use the word coprolite where a human would refer to fresher fecal matter; this may have a physiological analogue. They can gain some nutrition from the mineral content of carbon-based animals (including humans, although they never do that any more, honest), but not much. // A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the Earths continental crust. ... Orders and Suborders Order Ammonitida Ammonitina Acanthoceratina Ancyloceratina Phylloceratina Lytoceratina Order Goniatitida Goniatitina Anarcestina Clymeniina Order Ceratitida Ceratitina Prolecanitina Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals (subclass Ammonoidea) in the phylum Mollusca and class Cephalopoda. ... Coprolites are fossilized feces, or animal dung. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ...

Trolls often drink molten minerals for recreation. Due to the heat affecting their brains, this has the much same effect on them as alcohol does on humans. Electrolyte solutions have a similar effect, presumably more directly. One such drink is the Electrick Floorbanger (a reference to the Harvey Wallbanger drink). Troll "beer" is ammonium sulfide dissolved in alcohol. An electrolyte is a substance that dissociates into free ions when dissolved (or molten), to produce an electrically conductive medium. ... The Harvey Wallbanger is an alcoholic beverage or cocktail made with vodka, Galliano, and orange juice. ... Ammonium sulfide, (NH4)2S, is obtained, in the form of micaceous crystals, by passing hydrogen sulfide mixed with a slight excess of ammonia through a well-cooled vessel; the hydrosulfide NH4•HS is formed at the same time. ...

"Slab" (a street name for ammonium chloride mixed with radium) has a similar effect to electrolyte drinks, but much more severely. It eventually melts the troll's brain. The clean version generally makes a troll sit in a corner to watch the colours, but variants exist with more disturbing effects ("disturbing" for either the troll, anyone nearby, or both). Ammonium chloride or Sal Ammoniac (chemically ammonium chloride (NH4Cl); also nushadir salt, zalmiak, sal armagnac, sal armoniac, salmiakki, salmiak and salt armoniack) is, in its pure form, a clear white water-soluble crystalline salt with a biting taste. ... General Name, Symbol, Number radium, Ra, 88 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 7, s Appearance silvery white metallic Atomic mass (226) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ...

Trolls are theoretically immortal, but as they get older they get bigger and slower and tend to be more inclined to sit and think. They call this "getting philosophy". Eventually they just stop moving altogether, gradually "decomposing"/eroding into an oddly-shaped heap of minerals with a tiny living spark in the center. Many of the Discworld's mountains are actually very old trolls. Socrates (central bare-chested figure) about to drink hemlock as mandated by the court. ... This article or section may need to be cleaned up and rewritten because it describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. ...

Their scientific or species name (in Latatian) is Stultus Saxum (i.e. "Dumb Rock").

Troll Culture

Troll society is based on rocks and hitting people. They have numerous gods, all of whom bless their worshippers by hitting them on the head with a rock. Trolls believe in a heaven located underground, possibly because of a philosophizing troll's tendency to become part of the landscape. In a troll courtship the male troll hits the female troll on the head with a suitably attractive rock. The rocky side of a mountain creek near Orosí, Costa Rica. ...

Troll society consists of numerous tribes, with frequent fights between them (although to trolls, this would be a spirited argument). They can only be united by a Diamond King.

Trolls tend to be named after rocks, minerals and geological features, such as Detritus, Flint, and Mica, to name a few. This is used to make puns and jokes on popular real people such as Cliff (Cliff Richard) and Rock (Rock Hudson). Female trolls tend to be named for precious stones, such as "Jade" or "Ruby." Detritus is a fictional character in Terry Pratchetts Discworld. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Rock Hudson (November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was a popular American film and television actor, noted for his good looks, and most remembered as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s. ...

One of the more sophisticated aspects of Trollish culture is their traditional view of time. As the past, which lies behind us, can be 'seen', whereas the future, which cannot be seen, lies in front of us, the logical conclusion is that they are walking backwards through time. Also, since they are a nocturnal race, the trollish equivalent of the "Dawn of Time" is the "Sunset of Time." A pocket watch, a device used to measure time Two distinct views exist on the meaning of time. ... The past is the portion of the timeline that has already occurred; it is the opposite of the future. ... Look up Future in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Some troll tribes play a game called aargrooha, which is rather a lot like soccer. The game involves kicking a human head around on a field with obsidian boots until one side scores a goal or the head bursts, although it is of course no longer played by civilized trolls — honest!

Language

Trolls normally express themselves in a very physical way, and according to Samuel Vimes, trollish is "basically body language, and they like to shout". However, they do have a spoken language, although the extent to which it is used commonly among the different tribes is unknown. Troll characters appearing in the novels thus far generally appear to speak the same language as local humans as well. "Street troll" is a term used to refer to the slang version of Morporkian spoken by city trolls. Known trollish words include: Sam Vimes is a fictional policeman from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ...

• Aagragaah- "Forebodings", "lit'rally der time when you see dem little pebbles an' you jus' know there's gonna be a great big landslide on toppa you and it already too late to run" in Detritus' translation.
• Aaoograha hoa- "She who must be avoided" in Nanny Ogg's translation. A name for Granny Weatherwax.
• Aargrooha- The name of a sport, see Troll Culture above.
• Gahanka-the troll war beat, made by pounding clubs against the ground in unison, and gradually speeding up.
• Ggroohauga- "Music made from rocks". Percussion music achieved by means of rocks of different sizes, shapes and mineral compositions being banged together or hit with hammers. Not to be confused with Music with Rocks In.
• Ghuhg- A profanity. Exact translation unknown.
• Goohuloog- Translation unknown, used in Detritus' "troll oath" in Men at Arms: "I will do what I told - otherwise I get my goohuloog head kicked in".
• Groophar- In Monstrous Regiment, Jade defines "groophar" (in the context of "groophar stupidity") as "when, right, a daddy troll an' a mummy troll --" before getting cut off
• Horug- An offensive term for dwarfs
• Luglarr- "Big Hammer". An extremely potent type of troll beer.
• Oograh- All types of vegetation - the trolls believe that if you can't eat it, why name it?
• Taka Taka - the trollish war club.
• Wukwuk - a Slab cigarette. Also a body part that such a cigarette resembles

This sample reveals only ten letters in Trollish: a, g, h, k, l, o, r, t, u and w. Detritus is a fictional character in Terry Pratchetts Discworld. ... Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... Esmerelda Esme Weatherwax (usually called Granny Weatherwax) is a character from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... A percussion instrument can be any object which produces a sound by being struck with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. ... Soul music is a music genre that combines rhythm and blues and gospel music originating in the late 1950s in the United States. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Literacy and Numeracy

Many non-trolls stereotypically assume that trolls are either illiterate/innumerate or barely not. This, like many stereotypes, is untrue.

Trolls may have the oldest written language on the Disc. Samples of troll pictograms engraved on basalt slabs have been found in rock layers dating back 500,000 years. A sample translation of these ancient pictograms, found in Thud!, reveals a very isolating grammatic structure. Thud! is Terry Pratchetts 34th Discworld novel, released in the United States of America and the United Kingdom on September 13, and it may have been released already in other countries, such as Norway [1] and Denmark. ... An isolating language is a language in which the vast majority of morphemes are free morphemes and are considered to be full-fledged words. By contrast, in a synthetic language, a word is composed of agglutinated or fused morphemes that denote its syntactic meanings. ...

Him who mountain crush him no

Him who sun him stop him no

Him who hammer him break him no

Him who fire him fear him no

Him who raise him head above him heart

Him diamond

This poem suggests that each pictogram was only able to express one form of a word, with no hint of declension or conjugation. This leads to a certain amount of confusion; for instance, it is not possible to tell from the grammar alone whether it is the fire that does not fear the troll, or the troll that does not fear the fire, since the same structure is employed in either case. It appears trolls, arguably not a race given to writing things down, were happy to leave ambiguities to context. In linguistics, declension is a paradigm of inflected nouns and adjectives. ... In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection (regular alteration according to rules of grammar). ...

Trolls have a numeral system of their own, based on powers of 4. The base numerals are one (1), two (2), three (3), many (4) and lots (16), which can be combined to form higher numbers. When combined, each numeral's value is added to those of the others. Higher-valued numerals take priority over lower-valued ones, so that 4 is written "many" and not "two-two" or "three-one" and 20 is written "lots many" rather than "many many many many many". If there are no ones, twos or threes, the number is written with spaces between the numerals; if any exist a hyphen replaces the space between every numeral. With only the revealed numerals the system rapidly becomes unwieldy in higher numbers (for example, one hundred twenty-six in English becomes lots-lots-lots-lots-lots-lots-lots-many-many-many-two in trollish numerals, assuming that they do not have numerals higher than lots), but this may not bother the trolls.
Some trolls, particularly musicians, prefer to count "one, two, many, lots", although how they continue from there is unknown, even to some of them. For example, Jade in Monstrous Regiment says she "ran outa numbers" at that point. A numeral is a symbol or group of symbols, or a word in a natural language that represents a number. ... Quaternary is the base four numeral system. ... 126 is the natural number following 125 and preceding 127. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In Men at Arms, Detritus was able to count in a purely binary system after some teaching by Cuddy the dwarf ("A sixteen, an eight, a four and a one"), and invented higher forms of mathematics while locked in a cold-storage warehouse, although this hasn't been observed on any other occasion. Men at Arms is the 15th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. ... Detritus is a fictional character in Terry Pratchetts Discworld. ...

Trolls and other cultures

Troll society is unsophisticated, but some trolls in urban areas such as Ankh-Morpork manage to direct their tendency towards violence in more civilised directions. Many trolls have joined the City Watch, beginning with Sergeant Detritus. Others have found a niche in the opposing profession; there is a troll organised crime family called the Breccia, led by the "Ton" Chrysoprase. Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which prominently features in Terry Pratchetts Discworld series of fantasy novels. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Detritus is a fictional character in Terry Pratchetts Discworld. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... Breccia, derived from the Latin word for broken, is a sedimentary rock composed of angular fragments in a matrix that may be of a similar or a different material. ... This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ...

Trolls and dwarfs have an ongoing feud, ostensibly stemming from one being a race of living rocks, and the other being a race of miners. But really, this feud goes on because it is a tradition strongly ground into the cultures of both races. Representatives of both races have, however, been known to get along very well, especially in the case of Detritus and Cuddy, but this is rare. In the novel Thud! it is revealed that Koom Valley, the famous troll/dwarf battle, was actually an attempt to sign a peace treaty between dwarfs and trolls and in this novel the tensions grow weaker. Dwarfs in Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels are similar to the Dwarves of J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, which they largely started out pastiching, and dwarfs/dwarves in other fantasy novels. ... Thud! is Terry Pratchetts 34th Discworld novel, released in the United States of America and the United Kingdom on September 13, and it may have been released already in other countries, such as Norway [1] and Denmark. ...

Other kinds of troll

Yeti

Discworld yeti are a kind of troll, dwelling in the high Ramtops. They are noted for having thick, white, insulating rock-based fur, and large feet, which are considered an aphrodisiac in the Agatean Empire. At least some tribes are unaware that attempting to eat humans is considered inappropriate these days. Yetis have a hunting technique of lying still in the snow until their prey was near them, then pouncing. Purported Yeti scalp at Khumjung monastery The Yeti, sometimes referred to as the Abominable Snowman, is a humanoid cryptid associated with the Himalaya. ... The Ramtops are a fictional mountain range appearing in Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... Mineral wool, means fibres made from minerals or metal oxides, be they synthetic or natural. ... An aphrodisiac is an agent which acts on the mind and causes the arousal of the mood of sexual desire. ... The Agatean Empire is a fictitous country that occupies the Counterweight Continent of Terry Pratchetts Discworld. ...

The most surprising thing about yeti is their ability to manipulate time. A Yeti can "save" its life up to a certain point and, at the point of death, can return to that point, with the knowledge of what was going to kill it (a clear reference to video games – Terry Pratchett is known to be a gamer). According to the History Monks, the entire species has been rendered extinct three times. It has been suggested that Multiplayer Video Games be merged into this article or section. ... The Order of Wen the Eternally Surprised, better known as the History Monks, and also sometimes referred to as the Men In Saffron (see Men in Black) and No Such Monastery (see NSA), is a highly secretive religious organisation in the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett, based in the Monastery...

Gargoyles

One species considered a relative of trolls are gargoyles. Gargoyles are either urban trolls who formed a symbiosis with guttering, or pieces of stonemasonry initially brought to life by accident, or the standing magical field of the Unseen University. They are mainly filter-feeders, but also consider pigeons to be a particular delicacy. Many are employed by the Ankh-Morpork Watch, and more recently by the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company (the clacks), due to their ability to stay in one place watching for long periods of time. They have no concept of money, and are paid in pigeons. A gargoyle's personal identity is closely tied into its normal location; one example answered to the name of "Cornice-Overlooking-Broadway". Most gargoyles are unable to close their mouths, and consequently have some trouble pronouncing many human phonemes. Apart from this, they are quite capable of understanding and speaking Morporkian. This article is about gargoyles, the statues. ... Common Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) in their Magnificent sea anemone (Heteractis magnifica) home. ... Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in the fictional Discworld city of Ankh-Morpork, staffed by a faculty composed of mostly insane and inane old wizards. ... A Chappe semaphore tower near Saverne, France // The semaphore or optical telegraph is an apparatus for conveying information by means of visual signals, with towers with pivoting blades or paddles, shutters, in a matrix, or hand-held flags etc. ... The clacks in Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels is a network of semaphore towers stretching along the Sto Plains, into the Ramtops and across the Unnamed Continent to Genua. ... Pigeon redirects here. ... In philosophy, the issue of personal identity concerns the conditions under which a person at one time is the same person at another time. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Gnolls

Another relative to the troll is the Gnoll, which resemble humanoid compost heaps, and seem too organic to really be a kind of troll. It has been suggested that they have the same relationship to soil as trolls do rock, though nobody seems to want to do an in-depth study. They are scavengers, although no-one has enquired too closely as to what, exactly, they scavenge. Many of the gnolls in Ankh-Morpork work for Harry King, collecting rubbish for recycling, although they have to be watched to ensure they don't eat it. Gnolls (/niols/) are a race of humanoid creatures from the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. ... This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ...

It isn't known why Gnolls hoard rubbish. One possible reason is that collectors of carefully sorted kinds of faeces are held in high renown among the gnoll community. Rabbit feces are usually 0. ...

Sea troll

Sea Trolls are made of water, have a tendency to suffer from fish, and are notoriously long-lived, even by trollish standards. An odd troll named Tethis was encountered by Rincewind in The Colour of Magic. Tethis' body was made up of animated water, as opposed to the more normal rock, and his height and body shape changed with the tides. He was a Lengthman for Krull which meant that he patrolled the vast nets the citizens of that continent arranges around the rim of the Disc, to trap debris. Tethis himself however claims to have come from another world altogether from the Disc, named Bathys. Tethis and other 'sea trolls' like him have never appeared in any of the other books. Trolls in Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels, unlike the monstrous trolls of folklore and J.R.R. Tolkien, have been subverted into a moderately civilised race. ... Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett, several of which feature him as the central character. ... The Colour of Magic is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the first of the Discworld series which was published in 1983. ...

Others

According to The Discworld Companion, there exist, in addition to humanoid trolls, troll dogs, troll horses and troll ducks (although the ducks tend to sink a lot). However, none of these have been seen in the novels thus far. Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog is a mammal in the order Carnivora. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... // Subfamilies Dendrocygninae Oxyurinae Anatinae Merginae Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. ...