[7-8] ek mun mega búaz við brögðum ‘I will be able to prepare myself for tricks’: Kock (NN §3298) questions what reason the king would have to anticipate tricks from the bright-eyed young man, noticing that ormfránn is used elsewhere suggestive of ambition and vigour. Rather than translating brögðum as ‘tricks’, Kock prefers a more positive anticipation, of ‘feats’ or ‘exploits’. Against this, the meaning of bragð as ‘cunning, tricks’ is well attested (cf. LP: bragð 3), and the prose saga indicates that Hundingi has the power to understand the inner motivation of an apparently polite young man like Hjálmþér.