Friar is concerned that they might be moving too hastily.
He used riddling to talk to Smaug I think because he wanted to stall and waste time as he figured out a plan. He also used riddles to talk to Golem who he clearly was trying to stall to save himself as Golem wanted to kill and eat Bilbo. So it is a reoccurring theme of Bilbo and it makes sense.
An example of a periodical is People Magazine.