What do you call a group of….
The English Language is a complex one, full of rules and regulations, that must of course, regularly be broken but only under strict circumstances, except when they’re not and we just decide to throw in an occasional word or two that flout all the rules and yet are deemed correct by our spelling bible, The OED.
One of our language’s more pleasing quirks is its ability to infer an identity onto objects that ordinarily wouldn’t be associated with the subject and some of the best examples of this is with our penchant for collective nouns.
There are far too many collective nouns for us to list them all here but we have attempted to find a few of the more innovative or simply funny ones for you to enjoy; how many of these do you know?
Employment
A Babble of – Barbers.
A Shuffle of – Bureaucrats.
A Tantrum of – Decorators.
A Shush of – Librarians.
A Malapertness of – Pedlars.
A Drunkship of – Cobblers.
A Hastiness of – Cooks.
A Faith of – Merchants.
A Superfluity of – Nuns.
Animals
A Bellowing of – Bullfinches.
A Shrewdness of – Apes.
An Obstinacy of – Buffalo.
A Clowder of – Cats.
A Bask of – Crocodiles.
A Piteousness of – Doves.
A Paddling of – Ducks. (on water)
A Skulk of – Foxes.
A Pandemonium of – Parrots.
People
A Blush of – Boys.
A Pity of – Prisoners.
An Amble of – Walkers.
A Bevy of – Ladies.
A Wisdom of – Grandparents.
A Persistence of – Parents.
A Giggle of – Girls.
A Observance of – Hermits.
A Flight of – Refugees.
A Few More Animals
A Journey of – Giraffes.
A Coterie of – Prairie Dogs.
A Surfeit of – Skunks.
A Destruction of – Wildcats.
A Bloat of – Hippopotami.
A Kindle of – Leverets.
A Prickle of – Porcupines.
An Aurora of – Polar Bears.
A Clan of – Hyenas.
Under the Sea
A Fluther of – Jellyfish.
A Glean of – Herrings.
A Flotilla of – Swordfish.
A Herd of – Seahorses.
A Glide of – Flying Fish.
A Shiver of – Sharks.
A Troupe of – Shrimp.
A Party of – Rainbow Fish.
A Swarm of – Eels.
Some More People
A Flock of – Tourists.
A Colony of – Lepers.
A Cowardice of – Curs.
A Herd of – Harlots.
A Worship of – Writers.
A Den of – Thieves.
A Cortege of – Mourners.
An Conflagration of – Arsonists.
A Blast of – Hoodlums.
I could go on forever and never reach the end of the collective nouns that are acceptable to the OED.
If you are curious as to what a group of something is called you could always take a look in a book.
A study from the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics says parents who read to their children are not only strengthening their bond but also increasing their chances at school. The study shows that kids who are read one short book a day enter their first school years hearing almost 300,000 more words than those whose parents didn’t read to them at all. Of course when parents read more than one book the number increases again; five books per day increases their vocabulary by 1.4 million words!
The best kind of puns are the ones you don’t see coming, that hit you upside the head with their quick wit and frustratingly clever word play. We are suckers for playful language here at For Reading Addicts, and to be honest even a simple pun can lighten the mood.
Check out some of the best literary puns we have come across on the world wide web- some more groan-worthy than others!
2019 has been a busy year for the site so far with over 300 new definitions being added thanks to an increase in online slang and a rise in social and political debate on social media. Some may moan about ‘identity culture’ causing devision, however many more find the new language created around gender and sexuality to be empowering and inclusive. One such word added to Dictionary.com is ‘aromantic’, meaning: “a person who is free from romantic attraction to anyone or free from the desire for romantic love.” For those who would identify as ‘aromantic’ this addition to the dictionary is a validating and positive experience.
We have chosen a selection of our favourite additions below, but visit the dictionary website for the full list of new and popular words and phrases for 2019.
Among the most commonly misspelled were “niece,” “cancelled,” “desert”, and “beautiful.” And then there is the state of Massachusetts, whose most Googled request was for the spelling of their own state… Awkward.
Check our the map below!
A French book fair ‘Scène Young Adult’ at the Salon du Livre in Paris has drawn the ire of French authors, who say that replacing French words with English is “unbearable act of cultural delinquency”. Scene YA signs and displays read “Le Live”, “Bookroom”, “photobooth” and “bookquizz”, described as “sub-English knowns as globish”.
Well known writers such as Leïla Slimani, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Muriel Barbery and Catherine Millet all took great offence at English infiltrating their literary space and wrote an open letter published in Le Monde expressing their disappointment.
Other words of 2018 include Vegan, MeToo, and Gaslight- a real reflection of the direction 2018 has taken. Many of this year’s most used, newest, and redefined words are coming from the left side of the political spectrum. As a reaction against ingrained cultural sexism, institutional racism and xenophobia, words like gammon or whitewash have been on the rise.
Some may find the word ‘gammon’ offensive, and they are entitled to express their distaste, however the word is only truly offensive to those who the word is aimed at. The word first came about when a pattern emerged on BBC’s Question Time. It became apparent that older white men became quite pink in the face while ranting about ‘bloody foreigners’, ‘Brexit’, and the EU. It is not, despite many wannabe victims insisting it so, racist.
The full list of Collins Dictionary’s Words of the Year 2018 are below.