One of my favourite English lessons as a teacher (no groaning!) was Collective Nouns. You know - the name for a group of things:
A pod of dolphins
A tower of giraffes
A prickle of hedgehogs
A leap of leopards
A mob of kangaroos
A company of moles
A crash of rhinos
A harem of seals
An ambush of tigers
A sneak of weasels
It was such fun seeing how children's minds worked as they came up with their own examples. Could they more innovative than:
A murder of crows
A cast of falcons
A chattering of goldfinches
A twittering of magpies
An exultation of larks
A convocation of eagles
A match of nightingales
A parliament of owls
An army of caterpillars
If you Google collective nouns, you can pass an entertaining few minutes seeing what others have come up with - and not just for animals and birds. These sites had some really funny ones.
http://www.ojohaven.com/collectives/
http://www.guy-sports.com/months/jokes_collective_nouns.htm
So, for a little Wednesday fun, I thought we could come up with some collective nouns of our own. What would you call a group of:
golden roosters
Banditas
BBs
cabana boys/hockey hunks/gladiators/cowboys/dukes
romance heroes
romance heroines
romance authors
romance readers
romance novels
nasty villains
And I'm offering a prize. Real English Cadbury's chocolate for the best/funniest/most creative answers.
60 comments:
A chaos of Golden Roosters! Yes??
YAY!! Let the chaos begin! Frodo, NO! Don't chase the rooster! Good grief!
A Booty of Banditas !
A Swoon of Romance Heroines !
This is FUN, Anna! What a great idea!
so not clever right now, but for the TSTL heroines... :P "a gaggle of girls"
haha I'll think of something better later.
An orgy of romance heros.
Drat you Louisa! You beat me to the GR by a mile. Of course, if not you, it would have been Limecello or Akeirn, so I guess I'm waaaaaay out of GR luck.
As to these creative groupings, I'll have to check back in tomorrow when I actually have a brain with which to be clever. Grins. *which would be saying I was clever in the first place, which is doubtful!*
Fun topic Anna, I'll see if I can rise to the challenge in the morning...
GREAT topic, VA!
And a chaos of Golden Rooster?!?! TOO PERFECT, Louisa. Now if you can just keep the GR and Frodo apart...
A Booty of Banditas and a Swoon of Romance Heroines?!?! ROFLOL! TOO GOOD!
OOO, Akiern, I LIKE the way your mind works, an Orgy of Romance Heroes!
You all put me to shame.
My first thought was a Lair of Banditas. Too obvious?
A Cave of Cabana Boys?
Clearly it is too late for Aunty to be terribly clever, as the Duchesse says, ASSUMING I was capable of cleverness in the first place...
A blender of BBs?
A horde of hunks?
MUST. STOP. NOW.
AC
Well done Louisa I am sure Frodo and you are going to enjoy your day together
This is going to be fun Anna not sure whether I can think after a hard day at work but I will try
Hen pecked pack of golden roosters
Hot band of banditas
Drooling BB's
I will try and think of some more soon
Have Fun
Helen
A gaggle of golden roosters
A bodacious band of Banditas
A bevy of beau mondeBBs
A covey of cool cabana boys
A horde of heavenly hockey hunks
A glace of gallant gladiators
A collation of cowboys
A devine of delectable dukes
That's all for now, gotta go to work, congrats on the GR Louisa, hide the car keys!!
Ooh, Anna, English Grammar was my WORST subject. But I'll give it a go.
A federation of Golden Roosters
A Jubilance of Banditas
A gathering of romance readers.
A compilation of romance heroes
A coalition of romance heroines
A tempestuousness of villians.
As for the cabana boys - just send one over my way and I'll think of a noun to go with him.
Lots of great comments!!
After an orgy of dog biscuits for Frodo and chocolate for the the GR they are crashed under the covers. I have take the precaution of dead-bolting the doors AND hiding the car keys. We all know what happened last time.
An Orgy of Romance Heroes is fabulous!!
How about -
A Sneer of Villains or
A Shriek of Villains or
A Horror of Villains or
A Dastardly of Villains
A Hotdamn of Heroes anyone?
A Passion of Romance Writers or
A Bodice Ripping of Romance Writers (bad, I know!)
A Bodaciousness of Bandita Buddies
A Deliciousness of Dukes
A "Rendezvous of Romantics" or a "Symphony of Seductresses"
I love multiples!
These are so funny so far. A chaos of golden roosters sounds perfect, Louisa. And orgy of romance heroes -- LOL, arkiern.
Oooh, these are wonderful, everyone! Beth, I had to laugh about you loving multiples....SNORK! Double entendre, anyone? Grins.
Also, there's only ONE GR and he is indeed a chaos, so that fits, but he's no group (or groupie!) Solidly singular, that's our bird. :>
I like a Lair of Banditas and a Bevy or a Blast of BBs. heehee, that gives the BBs both firepower and groupness.
A clutch of cabana boys
A penalty of hockey hunks
A vambrace of gladiators
A ride of cowboys *VEG*
A damnation of Dukes
A rabble of romance heroes
A feint (rather than faint) of romance heroines (Wily rascals, those romance heroines!)
A powerful passel of romance authors
A force of romance readers
A rising tide of romance novels
A vigil of nasty villains
How's that for starters? Just had coffee so I'm sure once my actual blood flow is restored through caffeine I'll be more sparky. Heehee.
Great fun, Anna and those links were a blast. I spent a bit getting lost in the word play. Ha! (Imagine that, from a writer. Amazing!)
I'll try some without looking at the others. So sorry if I repeat any.
a hen party of golden roosters
a slew of Banditas
a gaggle of BBs
a smorgesborde (sp?!) of cabana boys/hockey hunks/gladiators/cowboys/dukes
a tasty treat of romance heroes
a spunky batch of romance heroines
a cache of romance authors
a bushel basket of romance readers
a sizzling stack of romance novels
a steaming pile of nasty villains
Okay, these are pretty lame. But I tried. LOL! Great blog, Anna!
a bank of golden roosters
a brigand of Banditas
a bon-bon of BBs
a caboodle of cabana boys
a heap of hockey hunks
a gathering of gladiators
a poke of cowboys
a domain of dukes
a rake of romance heroes
a (blue)stocking of romance heroines
a (NYT bestselling) list of romance authors
a slap-and-tickle of romance readers
a stack of romance novels
an assembly of anti-heroes
Oh, I love a Booty of Banditas! And the "swoon" of romance heroines is hysterical! That's so perfect!
A sneer of villains!
These are all so good!! What fun this assignment is!
MsHellion YOURs are pretty darn good as well!
I love a Brigand of Banditas and a Caboodle of Cabana Boys, although I'm not sure I could say it three times, fast. :> I also like Marisa's a Jubilation of Banditas. We are pretty jubilant, aren't we? Grins.
I also adore the one A Slap-and-tickle of romance readers and a Hot Damn of Heroes. SNORK!!!
A sneer of villains and a steaming pile of villains and an assembly of anti-heroes. Well-done!!
Oh, man Anna, I've always loved this too! I find the "official" group nouns to be so interesting. The thing is, I don't know who is the official designator of such nouns. I've always wondered about that....who decided it was officially A gaggle of geese? (or is that the official one?)
A murder of crows? I'm sure all of these have origins some place in history and the meanings were different then, but my husband and I talk about this frequently.
A clutch of chicks.
I particularly like a parliament of owls.
But making up your own....I haven't played this game.
Wow, some of the ones people have already come up with are terrific.
Louisa, I love the Chaos of Golden Roosters! Perfectly appopriate.
Okay, lemme read through and think..
Okay I think it's fun to switch the usage of the part of speech--use adjectives as nouns sometimes.
A Feduciary of contest judges.
Oh, we could do, A Bastion of BBs.
An Armory of Gladiators (for you Joanie T).
Some of these y'all have come up with are fantastic!
I like A Shriek of Villains Nice work, Louisa.
Helen, a Drooling of BBs is excellent!
Hellion, a Bon Bon of BBs.
LOL! That's perfect!
A hunkfest of heroes?
A bash of banditas
Obviously, this is not my strength - but I love everyone's answers.
Ooooo, Donna.
A hunkfest of heroes. I love it.
c
A copulation of romance heroes?
Suz, you minx! That's hysterical.
Oh, hey, that's one...a minx of romance heroines...
a scribe of romance authors
golden roosters (a glow of ....
Banditas (a blog of ...
BBs (a
cabana boys/hockey hunks/gladiators/cowboys/dukes (a range of cowboys
romance heroes ( a hunk of ...
romance heroines (a swoon of....
romance authors (an anthology of.
romance readers ( a ring of ..
romance novels ( a slew of ...
nasty villains (a fort of ....
These are all great! Here's my little contribution:
A roost of golden roosters
A bevy of banditas
A benevolence of BBs
A pool of cabana boys
A handful of hockey hunks
A glistening of gladiators
A round-up of cowboys
A dirth of dukes
A helping of romance hunks
A hoard of romance heroines
An abundance of romance authors
A rustling of romance readers
A nuance of romance novels
A variety of nasty villains
Cheryl S.
1. A gadding of golden roosters
2. A band of Banditas
3. A banter of Bandita Buddies
4. A garcon of cabana boys
5. A handful of hunks
6. A galaxy of gladiators
7. A round-up of cowboys
8. A dazzle of dukes
9. An heirdom of romance heroes
10. A harmony of romance heroines
11. An auctorial of romance authors
12. A rack of romance readers
13. A novus of romance novels
14. A nest of nasty villains
15. A villainy of nasty villains
Pat Cochran
Ooooh, Robin and Cheryl those are great! Pat, I love yours too, but I'm off now to look up auctorial...
Wow, everyone's so creative! Congrats, Louisa! Has the GR brought any compatriots over?
Hmm... not feeling terribly creative here:
- a cluck? bokbok? prize? armadillo? of golden roosters
- a wonder? delight? of Banditas
- a bounty? bliss? of BBs
- a pool? of cabana boys/hockey hunks/gladiators/cowboys/dukes
- a marvel? dream? fantasy? of romance heroes
- a desire of romance heroines
- a pen? magic? of romance authors
- a book? bookshelf? of romance readers
- a heart? fathom? of romance novels
- a snot of nasty villains
Hey, Louisa! Congrats on the rooster. You can smell that Cadbury's chocolate from miles away, can't you?
Anna, what a fun post. I love some of those collective nouns like an exaltation of larks and a parliament of owls.
Hey, I'm loving everyone's answers! I'm going to have a go!
A FEATHERATION of golden roosters (apologies to Marisa's federation!)
A bounty of Banditas
A beverage of BBs
A crash of cabana boys
A hail of hockey hunks
A gore of gladiators
A saunter of cowboys
A dopple of dukes
A drool of romance heroes
A giggle of romance heroines
A baldness of romance authors (can you tell I just finished a book?)
A rabble of romance readers
A mountain of romance novels (oh, no, that's my TBR pile!)
A nobble of nasty villains!
Louisa--a chaos of golden roosters! Love it! And congrats on snaring the bird.
Fun topic, VA. Everygody's way ahead of me on contributing cool possibilities. I'm with Donna in not feeling especially adept at this, but the nouns the banditas and commenters have offered are wonderful. There's a lot of creativity in cyber-land.
Louisa, w00t, and in your honor, I say: An Opera of Golden Roosters.
Oh, this is tons of fun, Vrai. I'm going to have a go at the others...
A buccaneer of Banditas
A collage of BBs
A hunk of romance heroes
A giggle of romance heroines
A vogue of romance authors
A chic of romance readers
A(n) ecstasy of romance novels
A kill of nasty villains
Oh you have all been SO busy! These are all too funny. Here are a few I came up with at work. You didn't really think I did actually work at the bakery, did you?
A Destitution of Dukes
A Devilment of Dukes
A Diamond Debutante's Dancecard of Dukes
A Caliente of Cabana Boys
A Cantata of Cabana Boys
A Cuckaracha of Cabana Boys
A Cozy Cuddle of Cabana Boys
A Heartbreak of Heroes
A Bodycheck of Hockey Hunks
A Glistening Glutimous of Gorgeous Gladiators
Keira, I love an Opera of Golden Roosters!!
And yes, La Campbell, I have a very finely tuned nose when it comes to Cadbury's!
Wow, ya'll been having fun while Joanie T labored away at the hospital!
I'm pretty brain dead but these are my favs of all the ones given:
A Bon Bon of BB's
A Caboodle of Cabana Boys
A copulation of romance heroes
And Demetrius' favorite? "A glistening of gladiators". He started polishing his....shield, people!!!
Hey everyone - I'm sorry I missed you all yesterday. Blame travelling and hockey hunks! I can see you all had a real giggle without me.
OMG you all are good. I expected Louisa to be extra creative - there is Cadbury's involved after all *g*
LOL on a chaos of GR's!
I'm laughing away in my hotel room.
Love a swoon of romance heroines, Louisa.
And your orgy of romance heroes, ArkieRN.
ROFL at a gaggle of TSTL heroines, Limecello.
Not bad, AC - I thought of a Lair of Banditas too *g*.
Helen - LOL at drooling BB's ... I hope that's because we provide you with drool-worthy hunks and books.
Dianna! Great work! Bodacious band of Banditas is fab (as is horde of heavenly hockey hunks *g*). I loved a devine if delicious dukes too.
I see the cabana boy helped inspire you, Marisa. A tempestuousness of villains - ooooh!
Looking forward to catching up with you and Maria in NJ.
Louisa - oh yes to a dastardly of villains and a hotdamn of hunks. Nice work.
Oooh I like a rendezvous of romantics, Beth.
ROFL Duchesse about the multiples. Good job I wasn't drinking tea.
Jeanne - you're on fire! He he on a penalty of hockey hunks - you must have been watching last night's game (which we won - yay!). Loved a ride of cowboys and a feint (very clever) of romance heroines!
Terrio - they weren't lame at all! Loved a hen party of GR's and a smorgesbord of hockeyhunks/cabana boys/ gladiators oh and a sizzling stack of romance novels.
Ms Hellion - I can see you were inspired too. Awesome list. Loved a bonbon of BB's, a poke of cowboys, a slap & tickle of romance novels and, of course, a NYT besteselling list of romance authors!
Oops - typing too fast on hubby's laptop - that should have been a slap&tickle of romance readers!
LOL on an armoury of gladiators, Cassondra. Perfect ... and I bet Joanie loves it/them too.
A hunkfest of heroes is perfect, Donna. And after SF, so is a bash of Banditas!
ROFL Suz - nice one - a copulation of romance heroes he he he.
Oooh - you are good Jeanne - a minx of romance heroines.
Robynl - excellent! I loved a range of cowboys and a glow of GR's.
Cas2ajs - Cadbury's obviously inspired you too. Loved a round-up of cowboys, a rustling of romance readers and a nuance of romance novels.
Very creative, Pat - like Jeanne, I'm off to look up auctorial - great-sounding word.
Loved a banter of BB's and a garcon of cabana boys!
Yes, you are creative flchen1 - they were all great! Particularly liked a cluck of GR's a fantasy of romance heroes and a snot of villains LOL.
Oh Anna - another potential tea-spewing moment! A featheration of GR's ha ha ha ha! Loved a gore of gladiators and a baldness of romance authors (oh yes - know how that feels!)
I don't know about a crash of cabana boys - but definitely a crash of hockey hunks (at least there were plenty of those in last night's game!)
Nancy - I too am humbled by the sheer creative talent of this *insert appropriate collective noun* of commenters! LOL
Keira! Great to see you! Loved an opera of GR's! And a vogue of romance authors, a chic or romance readers and an ecstasy of romance novels.
Goodness, Louisa - that Cadbury's really has got you totally inspired!
What an awesome array *g* ... a devilment of dukes, a bodycheck of hockey hunks (yes, please) and a heartbreak of heroes. LOL on the glistening glutimous of gorgeous glaidators. Joanie will agree with you there.
You all were wonderful - thank you! I'm going to have a tough time choosing a winner ... maybe I'll have to have several. I'll announce my choice(s) when I get back to the UK next week.
Vrai, you've inspired my daughter. Now, she's coming up with collective nouns for Barbies, stuffed rabbits... See what you've started. :)
Have a fun travel. And may your hotel room have sound insulation. :)
Golden rooster Banditas, Yummy Hunks, Dangerous Dukes, I'll have to think of a few more. My mind is not working right now.
I'm impressed, Keira - tell your daughter, if she sends them to me, she can win a special Cadbury's prize. Have her email them to me at anna at annasuhden dot com.
Oops let's try that again ... anna at annasugden dot com.
Great job Gail!
Post a Comment