Today's Grammar Lesson
Monday, June 21, 2010
Animal collective nouns, courtesy of Wikipedia. Personal favorites: an unkindness of ravens, a party (hee) of lady dolphins, an ostentation of peafowl, an audience of squid, an intrusion of cockroaches, A MARMALADE OF PONIES. MARMALADE. OF. PONIES.*
If anyone finds us a website that details the etymology of these we will put that person on our fiancé/es list faster than you can say "eusuchian."
This more general list of collective nouns is pretty fantastic also (A FILE OF CIVIL SERVANTS!!!).
* TRICERATOPHAT: A MARMALADE OF PONIES. A FILE OF CIVIL SERVANTS. JUST SAYING.
Posts
There is actually a children's song about this... wish I could remember the name so I could find a link. It's hilarious.
A PARLIAMENT OF RAVENS is totally going to be the name of my next book. It's too awesome not to be.
As to the etymology, it's my understanding that it was something of a parlor game in the Middle Ages to think these things up.
Not a parlor game, because the concept of separate rooms for special purposes was in its infancy*, but a hall game.
*Or second infancy, or fourth infancy. It had died out.
A consortium of crabs! Sounds like a cheap hooker convention!
Oh! And an array of eels!
"So, what's on the menu at the sushi bar today?"
A dazzle of zebras.
You've given me the perfect title for my gardening thriller: A SQUIRM OF WORMS.
This book is the place to find out their etomology apparently: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mess-Iguanas-Whoop-Gorillas-Amazement/dp/1846142555
A dazzle of zebras - *dreamy sigh*
I think you want this book. And this blog post sort of summarizing what can be learned from it.
As far as I can tell, the reason for all these different classifiers was to make the uneducated look/feel even dumber. Oh, British Pretension! Do you know no bounds?
This page is also very interesting. Especially the part that refers to them as terms of venery, or venereal nouns.
Thanks, Adam. And you’re right about the British pretension – it seems saying the wrong word at dinner would be like letting loose a break of winds.
Here’s an abridged version of how Conan Doyle put it in the story that article mentioned:
"But above all I pray you, Nigel, to have a care in the use of the terms of the craft, lest you should make some blunder at table, so that those who are wiser may have the laugh of you, and we who love you may be shamed. Answer me now, lad, how would you say if you saw ten badgers together in the forest?"
"A cete of badgers, fair sir."
"And if you see a swarm of foxes, how would you call it?"
"A skulk of foxes."
"And if they be swine?"
"Surely it is a herd of swine."
"Nay, nay, lad, it is indeed sad to see how little you know. No man of gentle birth would speak of a herd of swine; that is the peasant speech. If you drive them it is a herd. If you hunt them one talks of a sounder of swine.... Hark ye! only last week that jack-fool, the young Lord of Brocas, was here talking of having seen a covey of pheasants in the wood. One such speech would have been the ruin of a young Squire at the court.”
Me, I'll stick to hanging with a worship of writers.
*falls over*
I've always thought a murder of crows was good (and have suggested several times it be the term they also use with children) but you win with Marmelade of ponies.
HUZZAH Adam Heine and Jodie!
An IRE of Rejectionists! HA HA HA HA HA
An intrusion of cockroaches...now I'll be confused when people say "an intrusion of cockroaches." Do they just mean a group of cockroaches, or an actual intrusion?
I made this one up years ago, after moving to Brooklyn:
A skinny of hipsters.
A FOXINESS OF CHERIES
I'll admit, I find the idea of a bevy of otters titillating. Is that so wrong?
Oh, man. I know a skinny of Brooklyn hipsters. I'm glad I now know what to cal them.
What we have here is a Desperation of Writers.
Desperation of Writers, hunting a Rejection of Editors.
That Worship of Writers? I thought the Brits had their priorities straight with that one, but it turns out it was meant the other way around. May a Horde of Hamsters spit in their tea.
A "murder of crows" has always been my favorite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_collective_nouns_for_birds
A PATIENCE OF SUPPORT TEAMS
A DELIGHT OF AUTHOR-FRIENDS
A JOYFULNESS OF KEITH POPELYS (Popelies?)
A PARSIMONY OF AGENTS
Things got really strange really fast. There was no stopping it.
ok, this inspired a search of the internet for sites that make up fake funny collective nouns. there are some funny ones for picking and choosing, but obviously someone with some time on their hands should collect them on one page.
this one is pretty good, though:
http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/91q2/colnouns.html
I've gone completely off the rails now, and this has nothing to do with anything. But as long as I already had the marmalade ponies on the desk...
An implausibility of platypi!!!!
Also, please tell me that is an Office reference inside that marmalade pony ...
Nix: Yes. Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam are totally the Tim/Jim and Gareth/Dwight of that workplace.
I always thought ducks should come in a waddling.
Post a Comment