In "Olde England" folk used to hunt for pleasure. Whatever you may think of hunting as a sport (or colonisation as an economic strategy, or parliamentary democracy as a form of government, for that matter) in our century, in the fifteenth century it was socially acceptable, and a delightful & complex language developed from it. "Terms of venery" are words from hunting, particular words used to indicate collections of beasts and birds. And as anything fashionable is adopted and adapted for other purposes, special collective nouns were invented for and applied to things and people. Some of these terms are witty, others are mundane (through overuse), and several are clever; many show a marvellous poetry.Enjoy! If inspired, contribute! If VERY inspired, read what got me started:
| for animals | for people | |
|---|---|---|
| An exultation of larks | A congregation of people | |
| A gaggle of geese | A superfluity of nuns | |
| A pride of lions | An impatience of wives | |
| A shrewdness of apes | An obeisance of servants | |
| A murder of crows | An impertinence of peddlers | |
| A pod of seals | A boast of soldiers | |
| A party of jays | A poverty of pipers | |
| A paddling of ducks | A neverthriving of jugglers | |
| A pitying of turtledoves | A drift of fishermen | |
| A crash of rhinoceroses | A smirk of couriers | |
| A trip of goats | An incredulity of cuckolds | |
| A bouquet of pheasants | An eloquence of lawyers | |
| An ostentation of peacocks | A skulk of thieves | |
| A knot of toads | An illusion of painters | |
| A clowder of cats | A rascal of boys | |
| for animals | for things | for people |
|---|---|---|
| A lounge of lizards | A linkage of web pages | A pan of reviewers |
| A shiver of sharks | A yawn of collective nouns | A shrivel of critics |
| A scurry of squirrels | A breakdown of plans | A magnum of hit men |
| A glint of goldfish | A comedy of airline schedules | A phalanx of flashers |
| A pounce of cats | A tragedy of railway schedules | A chord of woodwinds |
| A scold of jays | A stack of planes | A glaze of tourists |
| A chain of bobolinks | A calcellation of trains | A blarney of bartenders |
| A wake of buzzards | A HO! HO! of loopholes | A shriek of contestants |
| A romp of otters | An OH! OH! of audits | A discord of experts |
| A gaze of raccoons | A pitfall of fine print | A row of oarsmen |
| An implausibility of gnus | A flight of yesterdays | An odium of politicians |
| A twinkling of todays | An unction of undertakers | |
| A promise of tomorrows | A monophyly of Cladists | |
| An annoyance of neighbours | ||
| A vial of Borgias | ||
| A scoop of reporters | ||
| A slew of exterminators | ||
| An expectation of heirs | ||
| A drift of lecturers | ||
| A babble of linguists | ||
| A following of stalkers | ||
| A MINE! of toddlers |
An invitation of others!