collective nouns 10/24/09

Many people collect things, like nick-knacks, trading cards , rocks or jewelry.

Me? I collect words. They are fun, easy to care fore and do not take up a lot of storage space and I never, never have to dust them.
It isn't just because they are part of my job, or the fact that I am an addicted reader.
I love words. I love the way they fit together. I love the fact that they are thoughts that last, sometimes for centuries. And, yes I am biased. but I love the fact that my native tongue is a mishmash of many other languages.

Like most mixed up things, English is a playful language. One of the many fun things about the English Language is the invention of collective nouns. I love to find these little gems. Often they convey a lot about the individual and how they are perceived.

armory of aardvarks shrewdness of apes

congress of baboons (OK does this sound vaguely unpatriotic to anyone else?...it does create a very funny image, though)

An aurora of polar bears sleuth of bears (or if they are particularly quiet ursine) a sloth of bears

a babble of barbers a bask of crocodiles

a clash of coughs a catalog of librarians

chain of bobolinks flight of bees

clash of bucks

Cats could have their own list there are so many ways to describe them. Here are just a few of my favorites
a clowder of cats clutter of cats
glaring of cats (no creature on earth can glare like a freshly bathed cat)
pounce of cats nuisance of cats (especially in the kitchen, underfoot)
kindle of kittens (No I don't know what a kindle is but it's fun to say)
destruction of wild cats (...or my cats in a playful mood)

lodge of beavers An obstinacy of Buffalo

rabble of butterflies wake of buzzards (kind of ominous , don't you think?)

peep of chickens chattering of chicks

quiver of cobras rag of colts

float of crocodiles murder of crows

pace of donkeys piteousness of doves

wing of dragons raft of ducks

aerie of eagles swarm of eels

memory of elephants gang of elk

business of ferrets charm of finches

skulk of foxes gaggle of geese

tower of giraffes cloud of gnats

implausibility of gnus trip of goats

charm of goldfinches glint of goldfish

skein of goslings leash of greyhounds

horde of hamsters (appropriate for hamsters to whom 2+2= millions)

down of hares cast of hawks

prickle of hedgehogs bloat of hippopotami

clan of hyenas scold of jays

smack of jellyfish mob of kangaroos

exaltation of larks leap of leopards

lounge of lizards (I guess that's where that euphemism came from)

plague of locusts tidings of magpies

mischief of mice labor of moles

barren of mules watch of nightingales

romp of otter parliament of owls

company of parrots ostentation of peacocks

bouquet of pheasants chine of polecats

passel of possum gaze of raccoons

huddle of penguins (of course they huddle it's cold down there)

bob of seals bale of turtles

crash of rhinoceroses fold of sheep

descent of woodpeckers host of sparrows

hover of trout knot of toads

a plague of rats (not like we hold a grudge or anything)

rumba of rattlesnakes scurry of squirrels

shiver of shark sneak of weasels

storytelling of ravens streak of tigers

warren of wombats zeal of zebras