Collectives

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I just finished Word Watching by Julian Burnside. One chapter discusses the 1486 Book of St. Albans, which was about "Hawkynge, Huntynge, Fysshynge and Coote Armiris." The book lists some names of collections you may have forgotten:
A skein of geese (in flight)
A gaggle of geese (on the ground)
A string of ponies
An exaltation of hawks
A skulk of foxes
A hover of trout
A drift of hogs
A bouquet of pheasants
A sloth of bears
A shrewdness of apes
A murder of crows
An unkindness of turkeys
An ostentation of peacocks
A parliament of owls
A barren of mules
A gam of whales
A murmuration of starlings
A mustering of storks

And for people, you have, of course, an eloquence of lawyers, a misbelieving of painters, a superfluity of nuns, and a worship of writers.

Comments

  1. Anonymous6:58 AM

    Which just goes to show that even in 1486, people weren't above taking the mickey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sheldon Richman11:29 AM

    I recall Johnny Carson's own contribution to the list: a rash of prostitutes and a shaft of proctologists.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous3:57 PM

    A lull of Daves.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:16 AM

    Great article! Thanks.

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