Ever since I observed a murmuration of starlings, I've been puzzling over those odd words we use to describe groups of things. I can see how the term murmuration might arise from the murmuring sound of the starlings settling in at night, but in that case we should call a group of cell phones a twitter and a group of bureaucrats an obfuscation. Why do we have a herd of cows, caribou, buffalo, and bison but a pack of wolves, a flock of geese, a pod of whales, or an army of caterpillars? Caterpillars are too soft and cuddly to merit military language!
And then someone tossed out the phrase binders full of women.
Well! It's about time to coin some new terms:
a huddle of Sports Literature students
a derrida of literary theorists
a cleese of British comics
a serving of spoonerisms
a burquet of veiled women
a gaga of rock-star wannabes
a babel of linguists
a frisk of police officers
It's not quite poetry, but it's fun with words. Now you come out and play!
4 comments:
a blither of idiots
a scope of birders
a haggle of garage sale customers
a thunder of motorcycles
a skittle of Skittles
a torment of political ads
a stack of to-be-reads, kicked when sleep will not return and you dare not put the light on
a hill of rot which one day will become soil
a lear of circumstance prisoners
a rally of volt drivers, all are welcome
enough said, a measure of Edward Said
D.
I've seen that blither! And I've been tormented by that torment and had enough Said. These are just terrific!
Just so you know, a group of tigers is called a streak. How perfect is THAT?!
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