Log in or Sign up

Pluralia Tantum

  • Love

A list of 233 words by reesetee.

About

Nouns that are common in plural form but are non-existent or rarely used in singular form.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • reesetee Never heard that one before--but duly added. Thanks. Jun 18, 2011

  • bilby smallgoods Jun 18, 2011

  • reesetee Good ones. :-) Apr 27, 2011

  • bilby withers Apr 26, 2011

  • mollusque monkeyshines . . . Apr 26, 2011

  • reesetee No thanks, mollusque. I've had dessert.

    Oh, wait.... Apr 26, 2011

  • mollusque Butterfingers! Apr 26, 2011

  • reesetee Thanks, bilby! Apr 9, 2011

  • bilby tenterhooks Apr 9, 2011

  • Wordplayer jougs spectacles waterworks bystanders recesses(as of the mind) shears bacteria criteria data agenda candelabra algae panini paparazzi graffiti opera Jan 31, 2011

  • reesetee Sorry, sionnach. I've been waiting and waiting for the old settings to be restored....

    But just for you, I'll add the hideous jeggings. Jan 30, 2011

  • reesetee :-) Jan 30, 2011

  • Dan337 (reesetee: Thanks. It was setting off my irony detector.) Jan 30, 2011

  • PossibleUnderscore Those things should be made illegal.
    Jan 30, 2011

  • sionnach Fortunately I still have visitation rights, even if custody has been grabbed by this Reese Tee entity.

    Sniff! What about the hideous jeggings? Jan 29, 2011

  • reesetee Glad you're enjoying it. I suppose you're right--the name should be changed. Thanks for pointing that out. :-) Jan 29, 2011

  • Dan337 This is lovely. I know it’s a mere trivium ​sic, but shouldn’t the list be called “pluralia tantum”? Jan 29, 2011

  • reesetee Apologies--I'd add you back in, but then I'd have to let anyone, anyone at all back in too. ;-)

    Do you believe it? This Reese Tee...creature took over when I couldn't manage to get my *real* name set up. Hmph.

    *takes fake umbrage, throws it cupcake-like at own profile* Feb 26, 2010

  • sionnach To think that once I could take pride in sharing the stewardship of this list with reesetee. But now, there's new management, and my status has apparently reverted to that of chopped liver.

    Not that I blame reesetee, who has apparently succumbed to a more sinister fate, to be replaced by some kind of bot-creature known as Reese Tee.

    This is the brave new world that technological advancement brings. Feb 26, 2010

  • plethora Nachos? Apr 28, 2009

  • reesetee Plus I'm entirely unsure of how I could add that to this list. ;-) Apr 5, 2009

  • bilby In the movie 'Malcolm', the protagonist's getaway car splits in two so the police don't know which half to follow. I presume that if the either of the two bits stalled it would only take a jumper cable to get it going. But that's a special case :-) Apr 4, 2009

  • reesetee Thanks! Dec 12, 2008

  • bilby coffers. Dec 12, 2008

  • qroqqa athletics, chambers (legal), corduroys, doings, hives, insignia, ironworks, mews, secateurs, shingles, statistics

    I'd suggest excluding sneakers, since it's not a plurale tantum: you can throw or lose one shoe, boot, sneaker, pump, plimsoll, glove etc., where the pairs are physically separable. Aug 21, 2008

  • chained_bear Oh. Well, okay. :) Aug 20, 2008

  • reesetee But see, that's my point. I'm not going to perpetuate the nonsense. Hmph. Aug 20, 2008

  • chained_bear *wags battlebutt at bilby*

    Reesetee, unfortunately, I hear all too often people using alumni to mean anything from alumnus, alumna, alumnae, and of course alumni. The usage isn't correct, but it's very common. I don't often hear/see alumnus or alumna even when that's what's meant. And it seems like nobody even knows what alumnae means. Aug 20, 2008

  • reesetee Well, that's not a plural. . . . Aug 20, 2008

  • bilby Shurrup, battlebutt! Aug 20, 2008

  • reesetee Pants! and trousers are already hanging in the closet. :-) I don't know about alumni, though. Aren't alumna and alumnus used fairly frequently too?

    Arrears--of course! Thanks, bilby. Aug 20, 2008

  • chained_bear Pants!

    Oh, and trousers.

    Edit: also alumni? Aug 20, 2008

  • chained_bear There you go again.
    ;)

    (BIG WINK, JUST KIDDING, PLEASE LAUGH, LOVE YOU BILBY.) Aug 20, 2008

  • bilby arrears? Aug 20, 2008

  • bilby Airs and graces. Apr 11, 2008

  • Prolagus Yes, se famo du' spaghi*...

    (* "Let's have two spaghetti" in Roman dialect) Apr 11, 2008

  • reesetee Yes, but a spaghetto always leaves me hungry for more. ;-> Apr 11, 2008

  • bilby You don't necessarily have to have lots of spaghetti. Italians will often invite you to have just two ... wouldn't that be one each? Apr 11, 2008

  • reesetee Let's just let spaghetti stand for all the other pastas, then. (Al dente, of course.) Apr 11, 2008

  • Prolagus Of (first) course. I typed spaghetti because we discussed about that in the spaghetti alla bolognese page. Apr 11, 2008

  • bilby I suppose you could put almost all the pasta types. Unless reesetee massacres one macarone at a time. Apr 11, 2008

  • Prolagus Spaghetti. Apr 11, 2008

  • reesetee I'd say they're both worthy additions, sionnach. :-) Jan 7, 2008

  • sionnach reesetee: What are your thoughts about battlements? And I have an idea that emoluments are generally plural, but nothing to back this up. Jan 7, 2008

  • reesetee How could I have missed that one? Thanks, bilby. Jan 7, 2008

  • bilby Kudos for this list. Jan 5, 2008

  • reesetee Exercise? Who said anything about exercise? I don't believe in that nonsense. ;-) Dec 20, 2007

  • sionnach Now r_t, no need to get exercised. One set of cojones does not a festival make.
    Besides, you were the one who listed bollocks.

    Knee-slapping guffaw! Dec 20, 2007

  • reesetee Hey there! This list will not devolve into a cojones-fest, I tell you. We already have one of those. ;-) Dec 20, 2007

  • bilby I'm wondering if eunuchs can forget genitals. Or whether ... Dec 19, 2007

  • rolig Oops, I didn't notice page 2. Dec 19, 2007

  • reesetee Odd, rolig. I was sure I'd added scissors....Yes, it's the first word on the list. They're not all showing on the first page now that sionnach has gone bonkers. ;-) Dec 19, 2007

  • rolig And then who can forget genitals and genitalia? Dec 19, 2007

  • rolig An obvious one: scissors. Doesn't that fit the specs for this list? Dec 19, 2007

  • reesetee Oh, by the way--more on tommyknockers. Scary little buggers, especially if you're a miner. Dec 19, 2007

  • reesetee Well, it's not going anywhere so you can always return later.

    Cooties?? Haha! Dec 19, 2007

  • sionnach Cool! Thanks r_t. My first shared list. I'm psyched. Which probably means that my ideas will immediately dry up. Dec 19, 2007

  • reesetee Oh, all right, sionnach--go on, share the list! You're coming up with more than I have, anyway! :-D

    Bilby, condolences is a great one. Thanks! I've heard "conniption" used mostly in the phrase "conniption fits," which seems redundant to me. Dec 19, 2007

  • sionnach oodles? fries? bean- or brussels sprouts? baked beans? sneakers? fatigues? dogtags? skittles? cremains? knickerbockers, knickers

    other possibilities, though less compelling: onlookers, tommyknockers (I don't really know what these are), plus-fours, bloomers Dec 19, 2007

  • bilby Now that I think about it I've never heard conniption in the plural form. In Australia the typical use would be something like "John Player had a conniption after he three-putted the last hole." Dec 19, 2007

  • bilby If a person dies but you didn't really like them, can you extend just a condolence? Dec 19, 2007

  • reesetee Wow! Thanks, sionnach! Think I'll leave out the brand name, though. And I hear "conniption" relatively often, but I think it's far less common than the plural, so it's added. :-) Dec 19, 2007

  • sionnach marginalia? doldrums? braces (in the sense of suspenders)? banns? abs? pecs? hustings? chitterlings? cornflakes? rice crispies? hominy grits? conniptions? heebie-jeebies? bollocks? vicissitudes? Dec 19, 2007

  • reesetee Thanks! I can't find anything up there either. It's huge! Jul 25, 2007

  • jennarenn Good collection. I almost couldn't find it in the cloud of hyperlinks that your lists comprise. Jul 25, 2007

  • reesetee Oooh, great ones! Thanks, you guys! Jun 7, 2007

  • uselessness Don't forget about scruples! Jun 7, 2007

  • trivet and bygones! Jun 7, 2007

  • trivet Fun! Must be cause we've got all those arms and legs...

    Guts, covers, groceries, outskirts, cahoots? Jun 7, 2007

  • reesetee Thanks, palooka. Glad to hear it looks that impressive. ;-) Actually, most of these popped into my head in one big . . . pop. Mostly the clothing-related ones. Have you noticed how many of them there are? Jun 6, 2007

  • palooka Cool list. Must have taken time to research. Jun 6, 2007