The BillPages

That's my contribution. It's a little gauche, but what the hell.

Collective nouns are often odd, often of obscure origin and often quite fun. We all know "herd of cattle", and players of Trivial Pursuit learned "sleuth of bears", but had you heard of a "cast of hawks" or "peal of bells". "Peal of bells" is a fun one, being a sort-of self contained pun.

Not all of the collective nouns are officially recognized by dictionary compilers. Look up "cast" at Merriam Webster Online, for example, and there's nary a hawk mentioned. But they can be fun, and contribute to a more picturesque language all the same.

I was put in mind of collective nouns today by James Randi (nicely recovered from his heart ailments of the past year, and going on the attack against the woo-woos with renewed vigor). Randi wrote on his Swift commentary today:

I’ve invented a few collective nouns, which I think is a distinct service to the language. (A collective noun is one that designates a group of specific things. For example, the collective noun for “sheep” is “flock,” and for “geese” – when not flying! – is “gaggle.”) I choose to refer to a gathering of psychics as a “giggle,” for conmen, it’s a “fleece,” and for prophets, a “failure.” One wag on the JREF Forum came up with “Congress” as a collective for conmen, but that was unkind. I use an “absence” for a group of homeopaths, I refer to a “confusion” of parapsychologists, and a “cackle” of witches. Palmists are gathered as a “handful,” it’s a “struggle” of astrologers, and more than three phrenologists become a “bump.” And a group of spoonbenders can be called, a “desperation.”

I’m sure there are many more. Any offerings…?

And that reminded me of this offering, from author Jack Whyte...

LE MOT JUST...

We were arguing one evening, as the sun was going down,
About the names we give to groups: The old Collective Noun.
We had gone through prides of lions; schools of fish; brigades of foot,
When I wondered, "What's collective for the poor old prostitute?"

Well! I felt as though I'd stepped upon a hidden hornets' nest,
For each man proposed an answer, and each swore his was the best!
We'd a treasury of trollops, and a tragedy of trulls;
An entire Who's Who of hookers and a calamity of culls...

We'd a pastry cook among us who, in tribute to his arts,
Put forth the obvious image of a tempting tray of tarts,
While a fishmonger there present, who was more than slightly nuts,
Proposed the odious and malodorous catchphrase "a slab of sluts!"

Then our resident militiaman cried out "A troop of tramps!"
But he was shouted down in favour of a vile vendue of vamps;
A convention of solicitors; a haggling horde of whores;
Such invention for the ladies whom society deplores!

No, the task of giving pride of place was not a simple one.
The concubinage of courtesans might easily have won,
Or the hostile hiss of hustlers, but we had to share the rose
Between a bright fanfare of strumpets and an anthology of pros...

Check out Randi's writing here, and Jack's here.

And add your own collective nouns in the comments section, please. (Hmm... a "Bunch of Bloggers", a "Web of Bloggers", an "Annoyance of Bloggers...")