A quick blog about collective nouns

A flamboyance of flamingos

​http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosz/1955192221/

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​Collective Nouns
 
This week I came across a collective noun that I had not heard before, ‘A flamboyance of flamingos’ and this reminded me of some of others which I already knew: a business of ferrets, a murder of crows and a parliament of owls.
 
I then started to share them each day on twitter using the hashtag #collectivenouns and sharing the most unusual examples that I could find, such as a dazzle of zebras.
 
The posts garnered lots of interest, so I began to think about how I would use the collective nouns in writing. Many of the words are incredibly descriptive and could be used when writing setting descriptions in order to help convey a mood.
 
For example, when creating a peaceful mood, perhaps to describe a quiet country walk, the following examples could be used:
 
As I crossed the dew-kissed meadow, the sun rose above the distant hills and a wisp of snipe took flight from the long reeds.
 
The word  ‘wisp’ used here adds to the peaceful mood whereas an example such as a ‘pandemonium of parrots’ or ‘a band of plovers,’ or even a ‘parliament of owls’ would shatter the peace.
 
It isn’t only birds that can lead us to imagine a peaceful moment.  Barely a sound could be heard, except the gentle ruffling of the breeze-blown leaves in the trees and a prickle of hedgehogs snuffling for worms.
 
As well as peace, they could help children to include some atmospheric language in their writing:
 
A murder of crows nestled on the black, skeletal branches above, almost invisible now as the darkness descended.
 
The word murder will have connotations for the reader as will the word skulk in the following example:  A skulk of foxes prowled through the town, silently illuminated only by the weak moonlight.
 

 
 
 

An ambush of tigers

A skulk of foxes

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Taking it further...

​To take it further, collective noun can be used as similes – see the examples below:
 
The gang prowled the estate like an ambush of tigers. 
The snowy mountains nestled together on the horizon like a giant aurora of polar bears.
The models took to the catwalk like an flamboyance of flamingos; tall, thin and colourful. 
The children alighted the bus like a troop of monkeys 
 
Another interesting activity would be to ask children to create their own collective nouns.  We asked on social media for a collective noun for teachers and amongst my favourites were:

• An exhaustion of teachers,
• A patience of teachers,
• A reward of teachers,
• An exaltation of teachers… the list went on and on – please add your own in the comments section.

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A nursery of racoons

A shrewdness of apes

A mischief of mice

A quiver of cobras

A crash of rhino

A pomp of pekingese

A tower of giraffes

And some more...

• a diligence of messengers,
• an illusion of magicians,
• a shuffle of bureaucrats, 
• a stalk of foresters, 
• a superfluity of nuns, 
• a tabernacle of bakers, 
• a fluther of jellyfish,
• an escargatoire of snails, 
• a kaleidoscope of butterflies, 

As always thanks for reading!  Please share!

Thanks

​Rob