The next time someone ask you, “Did you know that it’s a ‘murder’ of crows?” (and let’s face it, everyone knows that now, thanks to the ‘fludge’ of collective noun sayers out there) you can reply: “Yes. And it’s a ‘parliament’ of rooks and an ‘unkindness’ of ravens. So shut up.”
Actually, most collective nouns were coined during the 15th century when they were often codified in books of courtesy for the medieval gentleman. The 1486 classic Book of St. Albans for example, contained a list of 164 collective nouns, titled “The Compaynys of Beestys and Fowlys.”
But if tracking down a copy of such a medieval tome is too much you might want to take a look at James Lipton’s fantastic compendium of collective nouns, [amazon asin=0140170960&text=An Exaltation Of Larks]. Here are a few choice cuts from the book…
- Business of Ferrets
- Labor of Moles
- Mustering of Storks
- Shrewdness of Apes
- Gam of Whales
- Smack of Jellyfish
- Host of Angels
- Fusillade of Bullets
- Baptism of Fire
- Quiver of Arrows
- Tissue of lies
- Murder of Crows
- Unkindness of Ravens
- Dule of Doves
- Clowder, Cluster, or Clutter of Cats
- Kindle of Kittens
- Mute of Hounds
- Pass of Asses
- Ostentation of Peacocks
- Team of Ducks (when flying)
- Paddling of Ducks (when on water)
- Trip of Goats
- Sloth, or Sleuth, of Bears
- Charm of Finches
- Hill of Beans
- String of Ponies
- Hand of Bananas
- College of Cardinals
- Shock of Corn
- Band of Men
- Knot of Toads
- Wedge of Swans (when flying)
- Parliament of Owls
- Superfluity of Nuns
- Abominable Sight of Monks
- Untruth of Summoners
- Doctrine of Doctors
- Damning of Jurors
- Sentence of Judges
- Rascal of Boys
- Gaggle of Women
- Gaggle of Gossips
- Impatience of Wives
- Tabernacle of Bakers
- Poverty of Pipers
- Fighting of Beggars
- Neverthriving of Jugglers
- Herd of Harlots
- Worship of Writers
- Hastiness of Cooks
via mental_floss
Pro Tip: Check for more with the Wikipedia list of collective nouns.