TIL - nice idiom!

100% agree. I read The Hobbit the first time when I was a young teen (maybe even tween), and I don't know how many times since. Not once did I think, "You know, what this story needs is a love triangle between an elf and a dwarf and/or a guest-host role by some Dune sandworms."

I love the early Star Wars movies, but they have plot holes you can drive a Rancor through. It is one of the reasons I liked "Rogue One." Tolkien's work was water tight regarding plot holes.