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Collective nouns!

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  • 12-11-2005 9:08pm
    #1
    radiospan
    Registered Users Posts: 3,329 ✭✭✭


    I was searching on Google, trying to settle an argument on the collective term for rabbits (it's colony), and I came across some interesting ones:

    a tower of giraffes,
    a coalition of cheetahs,
    a bloat of hippopotami,
    an implausibility of gnus,
    a shrewdness of apes.

    and my favourite:
    a kaleidoscope of butterflies.

    Any other ones people like?


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    #2
    Earthhorse
    Registered Users Posts: 14,714 ✭✭✭✭Earthhorse


    A murder of crows.
    A parliament of owls.

    There are other good ones out there. Can't think of them now.


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    #3
    Kolodny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,634 ✭✭✭Kolodny


    A prickle of porcupines.


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    #4
    Talliesin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    I like those for corvids:
    A murder of crows,
    A parliament of rooks,
    A tiding of magpies,
    An unkindness of ravens.

    Some get transfered from one animal to another in ways that don't seem quite right, a rookery of penguins, for instance.


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    #5
    gaf1983
    Registered Users Posts: 1,208 ✭✭✭gaf1983


    I love "a parliament of owls." Is there an Owl Ceann Comhairle then?

    A few have been added to HolyMoly.co.uk's "Rules of Modern Life."

    Some examples:

    The collective noun for a group of leery young men in gaudy shirts is a 'Stella'.

    The collective noun for a group of goths sat on the floor at a party (or anywhere for that matter) is a "bore".

    The collective term for a group of slags is a 'limousine'.


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    #6
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,949 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    http://www.ojohaven.com/collectives/
    Submissions have been matched, Suggestions haven't.


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    #7
    peckerhead
    Registered Users Posts: 3,379 ✭✭✭peckerhead


    A shower of bankers..? :p


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