Quote 7
"All the same, I should like it all plain and clear," said [Bilbo] obstinately, putting on his business manner (usually reserved for people who tried to borrow money off him), and doing his best to appear wise and prudent and professional and live up to Gandalf's recommendation. "Also I should like to know about risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required and remuneration, and so forth" – by which he meant: "What am I going to get out of it? and am I going to come back alive?" (1.121)
Some of the humor in this first chapter comes from the fact that both Bilbo and Thorin regard his signing up to be a burglar on a quest for treasure as a "prudent and professional" business contract. In other words, we think that exploring foreign lands filled with goblins and dragons sounds exciting and romantic. But the dwarves and Bilbo keep using this formal legal language to keep things strictly business. The tone of these negotiations seems so at odds with the excitement of what they're planning!