A list of 31 words by skipvia.
- sleuth appears on 35 other lists
- grist appears on 26 other lists
- obstinacy appears on 15 other lists
- kaleidoscope appears on 61 other lists
- quiver appears on 90 other lists
- business appears on 29 other lists
- earth appears on 63 other lists
- troubling appears on 8 other lists
- smack appears on 42 other lists
- surfeit appears on 142 other lists
- confusion appears on 30 other lists
- dissimulation appears on 23 other lists
- siege appears on 22 other lists
- fling appears on 29 other lists
- bazaar appears on 35 other lists
- deceit appears on 25 other lists
- parliament appears on 35 other lists
- conspiracy appears on 32 other lists
- plump appears on 50 other lists
- shrewdness appears on 3 other lists
- murder appears on 44 other lists
- convocation appears on 21 other lists
- murmuration appears on 23 other lists
- flamboyance appears on 16 other lists
- ostentation appears on 18 other lists
- shiver appears on 45 other lists
- erst appears on 2 other lists
- romp appears on 45 other lists
- raft appears on 27 other lists
- skulk appears on 73 other lists
- congress appears on 29 other lists
madmouth "unkindness", as in 'an unkindness of ravens' Apr 30, 2009
yarb I believe baboons are known to boom on occasion.
That is, when they are not in congress. Nov 16, 2007
reesetee C_b, your fingers must want to coin a new word. Babooms definitely has promise. Nov 16, 2007
chained_bear I vote for congress, rather than flange or troop of baboons. Because when you think of a group of baboons, what else do you think of at the same time? That's right: Congress.
Skipvia, this list is awesome!
Also, I keep typing "babooms." Why? Nov 16, 2007
sonofgroucho Here's a useful link on collective nouns. Nov 16, 2007
reesetee I wouldn't mind meeting the academics who are throwing that term around, mcbaine. They must have very interesting jobs. If my job as an individual who knows pizza doesn't work out, I'd like to call them. :-) Nov 16, 2007
mcbaine A congress of baboons have always sounded funny to me. You can also have a troop of baboons. A made-up word that is being thrown around by some and even a few academics is a flange of baboons. Nov 16, 2007
jennarenn It might be too common, but what about a pride of lions? You seem to be giving ones like herd, flock, and swarm a pass, but I thought I'd offer it up. Nov 16, 2007
skipvia Thanks, sionnach. Appropriately enough, it applies to foxes. Nov 16, 2007
sionnach skulk is also a venereal term, though I forget of what. Nov 15, 2007
sionnach Sting would like to invite you to a murder (of crows) Nov 15, 2007
skipvia I have a lot of those days, reesetee. Nov 15, 2007
reesetee Never mind, skipvia. You're just having a day. :-| Nov 15, 2007
skipvia Actually, I just edited the list name to reflect the correct spelling of obstinate. We'll see what happens next... Nov 15, 2007
reesetee A babble of Wordies! I like fabricating collective nouns (a shriek of teenage girls, a puff of smokers...shall I go on?).
And I love this: whG/bp (web hits on Google per billion pages). Found it in a link in your article, skipvia. :-)
Oh, and by the way, I think you can edit your list title, should you feel the need. Nov 15, 2007
skipvia Well, I just discovered that I have been using that word incorrectly all my life. Obstinate would be the correct choice, since obstinant is not actually a word.
This article has an interesting perspective on this common mispronunciation/misuse, along with several others.
Too late for the list, though... Nov 15, 2007
chained_bear question, skipvia--we used to say "point of order?"--... is the word obstinant, or obstinate? or obstinancy? Just curious! Nov 15, 2007
chained_bear Ooh, I like that! A babble of wordies! Nov 15, 2007
sonofgroucho What do we think the collective noun for Wordies should be----a babble, perhaps? Nov 15, 2007
skipvia Thanks, trivet. They're added. These make particular sense to me. Nov 15, 2007
skipvia Reesetee--I very much appreciate that you added the animals. I cited them on Wordie if thy weren't already cited to make this a bit more clear. Nov 15, 2007
trivet I do love nouns of assemblage!
How about a romp of (river) otters / raft of (sea) otters? Nov 15, 2007
reesetee I've had occasion to check on a few in OED too, and some are described as "fanciful"--meaning, I presume, that no one has a clue where they originated. ;-)
Oh, skipvia--I got that. I added the names of the animals only for reference. Nov 15, 2007
skipvia Thanks, reesetee, for the additional nouns. They're being added. Some of these are available as phrases on this list, but I wanted to create a list using just the collective nouns without the animal(s) to which they referred. Nov 15, 2007
skipvia In some cases, OED has citations. Some of them are from literature, others are just in the vernacular. Like reesetee, I don't usually pursue the etymology--I just like them. Nov 15, 2007
yarb It's interesting isn't it? Where do these come from? Does the OED have citations? Nov 15, 2007
reesetee Yarb: I don't know. SoG: I don't know, but I wish I did. I just enjoy them for their own sake, I guess. :-) But you're right--lots of them are just plain nutty. Nov 15, 2007
sonofgroucho Who actually decides, for example, that a group of owls will be called a parliament? Nov 15, 2007
yarb Collective nouns are fun, but does anyone actually use them (apart from a few) in context? A dissimulation of birds?! Nov 15, 2007
reesetee This has already become one of my favorite lists. :-) How about a dissimulation (of birds), a siege (of bitterns), a fling (of dunlins), a bazaar (of guillemots), a deceit (of lapwings), a parliament (of owls), a conspiracy (of ravens), and a plump (of waterfowl)?
I like birds, by the way. :-P Nov 15, 2007