Which future author was hired by the Oxford English Dictionary in 1919 to define a list of "w" words? A - George Orwell
B - J. R. R. Tolkien
C - Ernest Hemingway
Answer: B - J. R. R. Tolkien J.R.R. Tolkien is best known as the author of the fantasy novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, both which have been adapted into award-winning blockbuster films. What is rather less well known is that in 1919 and 1920, at the very start of his career, Tolkien worked on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary. Tolkien was assigned words near the beginning of the letter "W". The first entry in the published Dictionary which he worked on was for the noun waggle. The majority of his entries lie in the alphabetical range of waggle to warlock.