FICTITIOUS
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
"AADVARKS TO
BUTTERFLIES"
This page is just a bit of
fun! The page of
collective
nouns has
created a lot of interest and some very unusual suggestions, so I thought I
would start a page of the more "suspect" or innovative ones in order not to
confuse the younger visitors.
Please note
- many of these suggestions are provided by our visitors and are not
necessarily 'endorsed' by Hints and Things.
PLEASE
REMEMBER THESE ARE THE UNOFFICIAL NOMENCLATURE
Collective
nouns more likely be authentic.
Due to the popularity of this page
it has become very large and, therefore, somewhat cumbersome so I have
taken the decision to spread it over several different pages.
|
FICTITIOUS COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR VARIOUS GROUPS
AADVARKS TO
BYTES and many things in
between |
|
AADVARKS |
A HILL
of aardvarks.
Lee |
|
ACADEMICS |
A
DEBATE of academics.
A
BEFUDDLEMENT
of academics.
Alex
Oldham |
|
ACCOUNTANTS |
An
ADEQUACY of Accountants
An
ALCHEMY of Accountants
Krysia
Jones A
CHEAT of Accountants.
Jan Schorsij
Middelburg, the Netherlands
An
AVOIDANCE
of Accountants.
Simon West |
|
ACTION PAINTERS |
A
DRIBBLE of action painters.
Ian Keoppen |
|
ACTORS |
A LOVEY
of actors
Simon West |
|
ACTUARIES |
A RISK
of actuaries.
Ken Jaffe
|
|
ADMINISTRATORS |
An
INCOMPETENCE of administrators.
Simon West |
|
AIR
TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS |
A
VECTOR,
PATTERN
or SEQUENCE of Air Traffic
Controllers
Isaac Linkletter
|
|
AIRLINE PASSENGERS |
A
CAROUSEL of airline passengers.
Nick Street |
|
AIRLINE
PILOTS |
A FLIGHT
of airline pilots.
Bob Beecher
|
|
ALLIGATORS |
A GNAW
of alligators.
Tom Moores
and Pat Carter |
|
AMBULANCES |
A
SIREN of ambulances.
Paul
Taylor |
|
AMERICANS |
A DYSENTERY
of Americans.
Michael
Hughes An
ARROGANCE of
Americans
Simon West |
|
ANAESTHESIOLOGISTS |
A
TITRATION of anaesthesiologists.
David |
|
ANAESTHETISTS |
A SLEEP
of anaesthetists.
Peter Young
|
|
ANCHORMEN/WOMEN |
A COIFFURE
of anchormen/women.
Kenneth
Jaffe |
|
ANGELS |
An ASCENDANCE
of angels.
Amy Black
|
|
ANTIQUE
DEALERS |
A PROVENANCE
of Antique Dealers
Natalie
Stevens |
|
ANTS |
A HILL
of ants.
Alexandra
Bylczynski
A "hill
of ants" and "a hill of beans" refer to a unit quantity.
Like a "home room of students."
Harold
Daughety |
|
APPLE FANBOYS |
An ORCHARD
of 'Apple Fanboys' (people who think Apple
products are far superior to Microsoft products)
Richard
Grey |
|
ARCHITECTS |
An
OVERHEAD of architects.
Paul Rhoades
A CARBUNCLE
of architects.
Patricia
Ellistone An
EXPENSE of architects.
Cameron Crawford
|
|
ARMADILLOS |
A
THUMP armadillos.
Tom Butler
A TEMPLE
of armadillos.
A KNIGHT
of armadillos.
Lee
|
|
ARTISTS |
A PALETTE
of artists.
Gayle Bell
A
JEALOUSY
of artists.
Colin
Thompson |
|
ASTROLOGERS |
A CUSP
of Astrologers.
Ken Jaffe
|
|
ATTORNEYS |
A
BRIEF of attorneys.
A SLITHER
of attorneys.
Jeff
Throckmorton |
|
AUTHORS |
A
JEALOUSY of authors.
Colin
Thompson
A
CHAPTER
of authors.
Bryan
Lee Peterson
A
LIBRARY
of authors.
Thomas Muskopf
|
|
BABIES |
A SWEETNESS
of babies.
Steve Henwood & Felicia Uriarte
A DROOL
of babies.
Joffler |
|
BACTERIA |
A CULTURE
of
bacteria.
Michael Haberl
A COLONY
of bacteria.
I have been advised by
Gajanan
Joshi that this should be A COLONY of bacteria - he believes a
CULTURE refers to bacteria grown in a lab or a factory on a growth
medium.
A SCUTTLE
lf bacteria.
Patrick
Howlett |
|
BACTERIOLOGISTS |
A COLONY
of bacteriologists.
Dani Byrne |
|
BAD
ACTORS |
A KEANU
of bad actors.
Matt Presson |
|
BADGERS |
A RUMBLE
of badgers.
Adam
N.B: The accepted
collective noun for a group of badgers is 'CETE' as can
be seen here. |
|
BAKERS |
A
LOAF of bakers.
Richard Grey |
|
BANJO PLAYERS |
AN
IRRITATION of banjo players.
Jeremy (a banjo
player himself)
A
DELIVERANCE of banjo players.
David |
|
BANK
EXECUTIVES/BANKERS |
A GREED
of bank executives (bankers).
Patricia
Ellistone |
|
BANK TELLERS |
A CACHE
of bank tellers.
Peter Sharp |
|
BANKERS |
A
VAULT of bankers.
Richard Grey
A WUNCH
of bankers.
Jeff Mitting |
|
BARBERS |
A CLIPPING of barbers.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BARISTAS |
A
MOCCHARY/MOCKERY of
Baristas.
James Weatherall |
|
BARITONES |
A PRIDE of Baritones.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BARTENDERS |
A COCKTAIL
of bartenders.
Kenneth
Jaffe |
|
BASSET HOUNDS |
A
FRENZY of Basset
Hounds
Stephanie S. |
|
BASKETBALL
PLAYERS |
A GROVE
of basketball players.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BASSES |
A PROFUNDITY
of basses.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BATHING
BEAUTIES |
A DELIGHT
of bathing beauties.
Ezz Bish |
|
BEAGLES |
A
MURDER of beagles.
Mark Anderson (and brother) |
|
BEAUTICIANS |
A VANITY
of beauticians.
Simon West |
|
BEAUTIES |
A
BEVVY of beauties.
Barbara Bradbury |
|
BEERS |
A CLUTCH of
beers.
John-stuart McBride |
|
BEGGARS |
A
HAND-OUT of beggars.
Richard Grey |
|
BELL-HOPS |
A SCURRY
of bell-hops.
Kenneth Jaffe |
|
BELLRINGERS |
A
TINTINABULARY of bellringers.
Sam Overman |
|
BIGFOOT |
A BRETHREN
of bigfoot.
Andrew |
|
BINS |
A LITTER
of bins.
Contributed
by Ezz Bish |
|
BISHOPS |
A CONSISTORY
of bishops.
Submitted
by Trev Sewell
An ABSOLUTION
of bishops.
Mike Tinker |
|
BLACKBIRDS |
A
LIQUORICE of blackbirds.
Bill Borth
A PIE
of blackbirds.
David |
|
BLOOD SAMPLES |
A
COAGULATION of blood samples.
Daniel Herkes |
|
BLUEBELLS |
A HAZE
of bluebells.
Adrian Harris |
|
BODY
BUILDERS |
A GLISTENING of body builders.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BODYGUARDS |
A FIST of bodyguards.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BOFFINS |
A MENSA
of boffins.
Paul
Middlewood |
|
BOSSES |
A GROWL
of bosses.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BOXERS |
A BOUT
of boxers.
Ken Jaffe
A RING
of boxers.
Nanette Bergevin |
|
BOYS |
A DEN
of boys.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BRAS |
A CLEAVAGE
of bras.
Dael Franke
(+ employer) |
|
BREWERS |
A BUNG
of brewers.
Sam Overman |
|
BRICKIES |
A HOD
of brickies.
Simon West |
|
BUFFET PATRONS |
A GLUTTONY
of buffet patrons.
Richard Grey |
|
BUILDERS |
A
SKIVE of builders.
Nigel Cheffers-Heard |
|
BUNNIES (a pet name for Rabbits) |
A HOP
of bunnies.
David McPeek |
|
BUREAUCRATS |
A
BLUNDER of bureaucrats.
Simon West |
|
BUTCHERS |
A MEAT
of butchers.
Ray Cramp
A BLOCK
of butchers
Mal Walker |
|
BUTLERS |
A SNOBBERY
of butlers.
Ken Jaffe |
|
BUTTERFLIES |
A
FLUTTERBY of butterflies.
Sam Overman |
|
BYTES |
A
MOUTHFUL of bytes.
Howard Eglowstein
Mr. Eglowstein
comments: I use when I'm teaching kids how to program
refers to some number of data bytes that's more than just a few
but enough that they have to be handled and moved around
properly. I refer to that as a 'mouthful' of bytes. It's general
a few dozen and not much more.
|
Consider Southern kitchen terms:
A
MESS of turnip
greens (or any garden crop) as a measure of how much to cook;
A
SLEW
of almost anything, but It seems to fit fish,
considering "slough" is a slow-moving stream in vernacular: So, a slew (or slough) of fish. But it is a mess of
fish for dinner.
Harold Daughety
Aadvarks to Butterflies
Car mechanics to
Dung beetles
Editors to
Gunzels
Hair stylists to
Lumberjacks
Magicians to
Ornithologists
Painters to Rock
climbers
Sailors to System
administrators
Talk show hosts
to Urbanites
Vampires to
Zombies
Jennii Ramirez
wrote saying -
Are you aware that there is a
book which lists "nouns of multitude?" It's title is "An
Exaltation of Larks."
I AM SURE YOU CAN THINK OF SOME MORE TO ADD TO THIS!
Poem
featuring more fictitious collectives.
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