by beatriceotto | Jan 30, 2019 | collective nouns, put in a good word
What did cobblers do to be nailed with such a bad reputation? When did you ever see a drunken cobbler? Surely they should cobble together a class action, and hobble such aspersions on their profession, particularly given the favourable light cast on any gathering of...
by beatriceotto | Jan 23, 2019 | collective nouns, put in a good word
Having recently revelled in the bursting descriptions of a quaffing, boozing, drunken chef in Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan, I was surprised to see the collective noun for the profession of cook being ‘temperance’. Perhaps Swelter is the exception...
by beatriceotto | Jan 31, 2018 | put in a good word
A covert is a shelter or a hiding place, from which you might study coots. It can also refer to a thicket in which game can hide. Does this aquatic bird hide itself in thickets (or reeds), to be given this collective noun? See also my review of Arthur...
by beatriceotto | Jan 31, 2018 | put in a good word
A curious collective noun for young horses. Does their occasional prancing exuberance make them look...
by beatriceotto | Jan 31, 2018 | put in a good word
Delightful collective noun this, suggesting a harmless creature soaking up the sun on a warm mud bank. Just don’t tread on one when it’s basking. Or ever. And remember: Row, row, row the boat, gently down the stream, Merrily, merrily, merrily-oh,...
by beatriceotto | Jan 24, 2018 | put in a good word
A memorable collective noun, though perhaps unfair on the poor old crow. I have a soft spot for these intelligent and social birds and am not aware that they are any more murderous than other hungry...
by beatriceotto | Jan 24, 2018 | put in a good word
What a pity we no longer use ‘cur’ to objurgate someone. And how appropriate that the collective noun should be ‘a cowardice’. We could perhaps adapt this collective noun to other contexts, as in ‘a cowardice of...
by beatriceotto | Jan 24, 2018 | put in a good word
The first time I have come across ‘herd’ as a collective noun for a bird. Curlews are large wading birds of the sandpiper family, with a long down-curved bill and brown mottled plumage. They apparently hang out in...
by beatriceotto | Jul 5, 2017 | collective nouns
As I’ve never seen a chough, knowingly, I don’t know what they chatter...
