What do you call a group of…Part 1
So, I’ve started collecting something other than quotes. This is going to a nice little mini series I think. I’ll give you 15 names of things in groups. These are proper names garnered from dictionaries and encyclopedias. Some ridiculous. Some sublime. Welcome to “What do you call a group of…”
Antelope: A herd of antelope
Ant: A colony or an army of ants (How very military)
Ape: A shrewdness of apes (Why are apes particularly shrewd?)
Baboons: A troop of baboons (And back to the military)
Bacteria: A culture of bacteria (Because all bacteria like the arts, dressing in particular fashions, and eating particular foods.)
Badger: A cete, a brock, a company, or a clan of badgers (What is a “cete” or a “brock” you may ask…apparently, they’re groups of badgers. I can find no other feasible definitions.)
Bass: A shoal of bass
Bear: A sleuth or sloth of bears (So, bears are either detectives or lazy…interesting…)
Beaver: A colony of beavers
Bee: A swarm, grist or hive of bees (I get the other ones…but, a “grist”? Really?)
Bird: A flock, flight, congregation or volery of birds
Bittern: A sedge or siege of bitterns (I’ve no idea what a “sedge” is but one has to wonder if bitterns ever actually laid “siege” to a city somewhere.)
Boar: A sounder of boars (Why? What exactly is a sounder anyways besides a member of the Seattle Sounders Football Club?)
Bobolink: A chain of bobolinks (This one had me cracking up. Why a chain and who named that poor bird in the first place?)
Buffalo: A herd, an obstinacy, or a gang of buffalo (What do you think their gangs are called? The Hairy and The Shaggy?)
One Comment
Julie
If you're into collective nouns, you've likely seen this link already – but if not, enjoy!http://wondermark.com/566/