A COVEN OF CREATURES: Collective Nouns For Animal Groups

Posted by Author R. Ann Siracusa

A NUISANCE OF NOUNS

Collective Nouns – families or terms that refer to a group of people or things -- are an important part of our language. A crowd of people. A mob of gangsters. A herd of cows. A batch of cookies. We use them all the time without thinking about it.

Every now and then in my writing career, I’ve run into situations where I’ve wanted to use a collective noun for a group of animals. Not that I was required to use a word other than flock, herd, swarm, school, or pack -- all of which suffice quite nicely -- but driven by a desire to employ something more dramatic to avoid using the same word multiple times on a page. And some of these collectives are not as common as one might think.

Plus, I’m a fan of The Big Bang Theory, and Sheldon is always reminding us that a group of cats should be called a clowder. As perfect as Sheldon may be, he’s not quite accurate by omission. There are a variety of collective nouns are attributed to both domestic and feral cats. [Big and wild cats have their own individual group names.]

Photo source: foxnews.com/science/cats

Cats [domesticated] = Clowder, Clutter, Pounce, Dout, Nuisance, Glorying, and Glare
Kittens = Kindle, Litter, Intrigue

Cats [feral] = Destruction

In the process of looking up collective animal nouns when I wanted one, I ran onto several lengthy lists. After reading through a couple of them, I wondered who the heck makes up these amusing and often ridiculous terms. Some of them make sense, sort of, but many reflect only imagination.

AN ORIGIN OF ORIGINALS: Etymology
Many of these collective nouns for animals were introduced in 1486 with the publication of the Book of St. Albans [or Boke of Seynt Albans] which addresses matters of interest to a gentleman of the times [hawking, hunting, and heraldry]. It also including lists of collective nouns for animals, called terms of venery [hunting].

This treatise, also known by the title The Book of Hawking, Hunting, and Blasing of Arms, is the source of many collective nouns for groups of animals and people that are part of our everyday lexicon.

Others are among our fanciful favorites, well known but rarely used, and others are complete surprises.

A Gaggle of Geese
A Murder of Crows
An Unkindness Of Ravens
A Clattering Of Choughs
A Murmuration Of Starlings
A Charm Of Goldfinches

The publication is attributed to Dame Juliana Berners (or Barnes), the prioress of an abbey near St. Albans, Hertfordshire. Writing an advice book about hunting seems an unlikely pastime for a prioress, but she was probably part of the medieval aristocracy before she took her religious orders.    Photo Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliana_Berners

A WHITTLING OF WORDSMITHS: Who Decides?

What I don’t believe is that a Brit in the 1400s bestowed collective nouns on North American animals they’d never heard of, like An Obstinacy of Buffalo. If Berners didn’t come up with that collective, who did? Who gets to decides on the right collective noun for something?

According to medium.com/@Naturalish, “The short answer is "no one.” That may be the reason groups have more than one collective noun.

Photo source: hammakerzqmeriel.blogspot.com

Fox = Leash, Skulk, Earth, Lead, or Troop.

The English language is constantly changing and evolving. Dictionaries add new words and new definitions of old words or drop obsolete words usually twice a year. According to the Merriam Webster, “A Drudge of Lexicographers” continuously reviews the written and spoken words in thousands of collected texts and transcriptions.

When a word reaches a prescribed level of common usage, then it is considered for addition to the dictionary. 

Some words may be used and generally known for a long time before there are enough references to merit inclusion in the dictionary, in particular those related to a specific field of endeavor .

That said, many of the collective nouns for animal groups are in the dictionary but are rarely used in writing or in speech.

How does that happen? I can’t tell you how often I’ve read about A Stubbornness of Rhinoceroses. Well, actually, I can. Never!

Photo source: smithsonianmag.com/rhinos

As Naturalish puts it, “In most cases, they’re far from an already-utilized standard in the English language. Linguists seem to operate in a bubble claiming that these random, encyclopedic words reflect real human speech, when in reality, they’re the creation of an elitist, in-group of wordsmiths conning the public into accepting ‘poetry’ as everyday vernacular.”

~ June 5, 2018, The Absurd Truth Behind Collective Animal Nouns, https://medium.com/@Naturalish/the-absurd-truth-behind-collective-animal-nouns-f4a4cde48b4f

Merriamwebster.com agrees. “In the end, there is no cut and dried rule for how to refer to a particular group of creatures. And this may be why we love the more fanciful collective nouns so much.”
~ https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/a-drudge-of-lexicographers-presents-collective-nouns

A DELUGE OF DESCRIPTIONS and AN AMPLITUDE OF ALLITERATION

Below l have listed examples of some of the more creative collective nouns for critters, but left out most of the common terms everyone knows and the ones already cited.

Many of these describe fairly well the movements, looks, or habits of the creatures in question, and the imaginations of those who gave birth to these terms have good relationships with alliteration and rhymes. P.S. I have made absolutely NO attempt to alphabetize either the terms or the animals. Not sorry.

A Cackle of Hyenas             

Photo Credit:Jrlphotographer/Istock        

PhotoSource:mentalfloss.com/collective

A Raft of Otters
A Scurry of Squirrels
A Charm of Hummingbirds   

A Wake of Vultures
A Gam of Whales
An Unkindness of Ravens

A Muster of Storks
An Implausibility of Gnus

A Shrewdness Of Apes

Photo Credit:Jrlphotographer/Istock

Photo Source: businessinsider.com/odd-names

A Harem/ Rookery of Seals A Covey of Quail (Flock, Bevy)
A Rhumba of Rattlesnakes

A Memory / Parade of Elephants

A Scold of Jays (Bands, Parties)
A Pod/ Squardon of Pelicans
A Descent of Woodpeckers
A Generation of Vipers
A Run of Salmon


A Flamboyance of Flamingos

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Stringer              

Photo Source: businessinsider.com/groups-of-animals

A Kaleidoscope or Flutter of Butterflies
A Shiver of Sharks
A Scourge or Swarm of Mosquitoes
A Sloth or Sleuth of Bears
A Gaze of Raccoons
A Siege of Herons

A Fever of Stingrays

A Parliament of Owls

Photo Credit: Tariq Sulemani/Istock                  

Photo Source: businessinsider.com/groups-of-animals

A Skein of Geese
A Bunch of Worms

An Exaltation of Larks
A Family of Sardines
A Barrel of Monkeys
A Dazzle or Zeal of Zebras
A Congregation of Alligators
A Venue of Vultures

A Wisdom of Wombats

A Cauldron of Bats
Photo Credit: Flickr / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters

Photo Source: businessinsider.com/groups-of-animals

A Hum or Swarm of Bees
A Congregation of AlligatorsA Venue of Vultures
A Wisdom of Wombat
An Army of Caterpillars
A Caravan of Camels
A Coalition of Cheetahs
A Cowardice of Dogs

A Convocation of Eagles

I have no clue which of these collective nouns are in the dictionaries with the definition intended by this list. I believe “A Pride of Lions” is there, but you can be sure that I did not look any of them up.

Here’s the deal. If you know of a species out there in the world which doesn’t have a collective noun to its name, the door is open for you … let your fantasy soar. Just be aware that you can have a bunch of just about anything.

Not long ago I came across a species in Madagascar that I had never heard of. The animal was thought to be a type of lemur, but recently has been given its distinct family … the Aye-aye.

After giving the problem a great deal of thought, here is my collective noun for these creatures:

An Eyre of Aye-aye

I get the impression the aye-aye doesn’t like it too much.

□ 

AUTHOR R. ANN SIRACUSA
Converting Oxygen to Carbon Dioxide For Over Four Fifths of a Century

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Sources:

https://medium.com/@Naturalish/the-absurd-truth-behind-collective-animal-nouns-f4a4cde48b4f
http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-lists/list-of-names-for-groups-of-animals.html
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/551081/collective-nouns-groups-animals
https://www.businessinsider.com/odd-names-for-groups-of-animals-2016-3
https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/us/grammar-pattern/collective-nouns_2
https://www.cjr.org/language_corner/animal_collectives.php
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_collective_nouns_by_subject
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/a-drudge-of-lexicographers-presents-collective-nouns
https://www.etymonline.com/

#Covid-19 #99cent #eBook #Sale by Janice Seagraves

How is everyone doing?

Just in case anyone is wondering, I'm fine and just have an allergy. I'm working on my eBooks, dropped the price to .99 cents, and found one eBook which had the paperback version started but never finished. So, I'm working on that, too.

As of now, my eBooks in the Matrix Crystal Series (four-books) and Windswept Shores (two book) Series are all available for .99 cents each (book).

I dropped the price so everyone during the #covid-19 isolation time can have something to read.

Now only .99 cents 

Windswept Shores Two Book Series

 
Windswept Shores is back, and better than ever with a replaced missing scene. It’s something warm to read while it’s frosty outside. And better yet, there a sequel too.

Blurb: The sole survivor of a plane crash, Megan is alone on a deserted island in the Bahamas. Then she finds a nearly-drowned man. Another survivor, this time from a boat wreck.
With only meager survival skill between them, will they survive these windswept shores and can they find love?
For the first time available as a trade paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4084680
And for the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AS9NDNO
Excerpt:
His hand lingered on her shoulder. Her trembling vibrated up his arm. Blimey, she’s all shaken up.
“S’kay, she’ll be right.” He grabbed her sleeping pallet, pulled it over, slipping an arm around her waist.
Her body went rigid. “What are you doing?”
“Relax, mate, I’m not trying to get a leg over. You need a bit of comfort so you can go back to sleep. My mum would cuddle me when I’d have a howler of a nightmare. It’s nice to know you’re not alone.”
“So, I’m supposed to think of you like my mom or dad?”
“Or like yer husband if that’ll help?” He grinned in the dark, wondering what kind of reaction he was going to get.
“I think not.”
“I noticed you weren’t wearing a wedding ring. Is it because yer husband drowned?” His heart beat a little faster when he asked the question. He really wanted to know if he had a chance with her.
“No, he’s not drowned,” she snapped. “I lost my ring in the ocean, but I’m not sure when. I just looked down one day, it was gone.”
She’s in denial about her husband’s death. I reckon it’s too soon. A little disappointed, he decided to change subjects. “So, you got any ankle biters at home?”
“Two boys.”
“How old?” he asked. They must be missing their mum, poor little nippers.
“Joshua is twenty. He’s in college. Eli is eighteen and just graduated from high school.”
“Blimey, how long have you been married to your bloke?”
“Twenty-three years this January,” she said.
“How old are you?” He positioned his head where he could breathe in the scent of her hair, and inhaled a floral fragrance. How does she manage to smell fresh in a place like this?
Megan moved a bit forward. “Do you know that it’s considered very rude to inquire after a woman’s age?”
“Not where I’m from, so spill.” He scooted up some, placing his knees behind hers.
She pulled away. “Humph, well, okay I’m forty-two.”
“You’re still spunky.” He wondered how far she’d move until she ran out of room in her tiny shelter.
“Uh, spunky, thanks.” Megan rolled onto her back.
Blimey, she out maneuvered me. Seth was forced to move back, but kept his hand on her tummy.
“You got hitched when you were a young ‘un?” He quickly did the math. She’s a bit older than me. More of a challenge.
“Yeah, I got married at nineteen, but I knew what I wanted, or thought I did. Have you ever been married?”
“Got hitched once.”
“What happened?” she asked. Her bed rustled as she shifted position.
“We got into a blue, she told me to shove off, so I left. So that was the end of that.” His hand drifted to her rib cage.
“Any kids?” she asked, pushing his hand down.
“A son named Nick. He just turned six.”
“Okay, now you have to tell me how old you are.”
“I’m an old prawn. I just had my thirtieth birthday.”
“That’s not old, especially not for a man.”
“I’m starting to feel it when I surf,” he admitted, smoothing a wrinkle on her shirt.
“Oh, you’re a surfer?”
“Back in Uni I got caught up chasing the good breakers on Spring Break. I headed out from Cali to Baja, then from there to Florida. I became a Surfie. That’s what you’d call someone who surfs more than they work. Then I met this old bloke, Bill, in a pub. He’s from Oz too, or so I thought, but it turns out he’s an apple.”
“An apple?” she asked.
“He hails from Tasmania. I was broke doing odd jobs. Bill hired me to help on his fishing boat.”
“Wait a minute, Oz?”
“Oz, short for Australia,” he explained, moving his mouth toward where he thought her ear was, saying softly, “It’s in the sound Au`z-tralia—Oz.”
———————————
Trade paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4084680
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AS9NDNO
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/446101
Janice Seagraves’s website: http://janiceseagraves.org/

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Now only .99 cents

Windswept Shores Two

Blurb: Megan and Seth are finally rescued off their little island, but things are far from idyllic. Seth is arrested for murder, and Megan is order to return home to her philandering husband who is somehow still alive. Will they ever get back together again or see the life they envisioned?
Except:
“Megz, I thought you were going home?” Seth chided as she took the seat across from him at the old beat up wooden table.
“I have a flight in two hours. Time enough to see you before I leave.” She blinked back tears.
This is so unfair. This can’t be the last time I see him.
Megan folded her hands on the table. “We already checked out of the hotel, but I brought your luggage. The commissioner gave me the okay, so now you have a change of clothes for when you go in front of the judge. I also bought you a few necessities. Since soap and such are not provided, I was told it’s customary for family members to buy those items for the inmates.” She sat a white plastic bag on the table. “These have already been cleared for your use.”
He eyed the bag. “Did your boys pay for it?”
This is the last thing I can do for him, and he doesn’t want it? “Don’t you argue with me, Seth Dawson. You need these.” She fisted her hands. “I also put some money into an account here at the jail for anything else you might need.”
“Ta fer that, love. I’ll pay your sons back somehow.” Seth took one of her hands and uncurled her fingers. “I did want to see you one last time. I didn’t reckon with us parting this way. You to yer rotten bloke, and me here on charges.” He smiled. “Cuddling up on one of your siblings’ sofas sounded nice.”
“Crowded maybe, but we would’ve been together.”
“I heard you made a statement.”
“I did.” She sighed and looked down. I’m not sure what good it’ll do, Seth.
“Thanks for trying, love,” Seth murmured. “I don’t reckon on it being much since you didn’t know Bill before he died.”
“The commissioner said most of my statement is hearsay.” She shrugged. “The only thing I could really tell them was: Bill was dead when we found him and looked the same as the other drowning victims. Also, you never said a bad word about him and showed genuine grief at seeing his body.”
“Not much to go by.” Seth rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.
The slight touch sent a tingle through her, and she wanted to throw herself across the table at him. “The commissioner said he was going to contact the harbormaster where the Dinki-Di had been birthed to see if you two had gotten into any fights.”
“We didn’t.” Seth shook his head. “We got along.”
“Maybe he’ll make a statement too.”
“Gawd, I hope so,” Seth said. “I don’t have enough character references, being from out of town.”
“No, just me.” She tried to smile.
“And old Bill who’s gone.” He lifted her hand to kiss her fingers.
“Times up,” said a guard.
Megan stood and stared at Seth wanting to remember him. Not like this in the black and white jail clothes, but the way he was on the island, happily rumpled in his threadbare outfits.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/637092https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/637092
Buy Link: Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/Windswept-Shores-Two-survivors-story-ebook/dp/B01BPLNHTI/
Buy Link: Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.com/Windswept-Shores-Two-survivors-story-ebook/dp/B01BPLNHTI/

Kat Martin

Another exciting release from Kat Martin
This one has a twist

PIVOT

An interesting Concept

PIVOT by Kat Martin, Alexandra Ivy, & Rebecca Zanetti

(Zebra MM/April 2020/978-1-4201-5114-5)

“The three novellas featured in this high-octane romantic suspense anthology form a captivating whole…Remarkable tonal consistency and interlocking elements ensure that these twisty, sizzling love stories flow seamlessly together. Readers won’t want to put this one down.” – Publishers Weekly

“The novellas are loosely connected, set during roughly the same time period and sharing some characters and plot threads. Each story can be read in a single sitting and contains a complete arc for its characters that is both believable and engaging, despite the shorter format…This anthology is perfect for readers of romantic suspense who are looking for more from the included authors or for introductions to writers who are sure to become future favorites.” – Library Journal

My upcoming release, PIVOT, began as a novella that I wrote to sometime back to introduce my BOSS Inc. series.  Ian Brodie was the owner of the security firm, a tall, good-looking blond man, one of the Brodie cousins.  The novella was AGAINST THE HEART, a Romantic Suspense set in a rural area of Spokane, Washington.

A year ago, Alicia Condon, my editor at Kensington, came to me with an idea for a collaborative novel that would include novellas by two other authors.  Their stories would revolve around Ian Brodie and Meriwether Jones, the hero and heroine of AGAINST the HEART.  The idea intrigued me and we decided to go forward.

Alexandra Ivy and Rebecca Zanetti, both bestselling authors of Romantic Suspense, came on board and started writing, taking sub characters from Ian and Meri’s story, telling their own stories, and giving us a glimpse of Ian and Meri’s life going forward. 

In PIVOT, Alexandra and Rebecca started with the premise that the three girls involved in the stories shared brutal childhoods and grew up together in foster care.

Now as women, they’re fighting for their lives again.

When Meriwether Jones and her young daughter run from trouble in L.A., that trouble follows. By the time Meri reaches Spokane, she’s out of gas, money, and ideas.  Then her prayers are answered when ex-cop Ian Brodie hires her to help his aging father.  But Meri is keeping a dangerous secret—-and Ian is in danger of losing his heart.

Melanie Cassidy finds trouble when she tries to save a young boy from being kidnapped. The last thing she expects is former love-of-her-life, Detective Gray Hawkins, to appear and rescue them both.  But her good-Samaritan efforts pull her and Gray into a conspiracy of drug dealers and dirty cops—-and forces them to examine the relationship they’d once abandoned.
    Michelle Peach is one of Meri’s closet friends.  She is finally content in Portland—-until two rough men break into her home and threaten her life.  The last person Michelle wants to see is Evan Boldon, a former Marine turned sheriff. But this time Evan is going to stop the trouble stalking Michelle-—and win her heart for good.

I hope you’ll give this fun read a try.  And if you haven’t read the BOSS Inc. series, INTO THE FURY, INTO THE WHIRLWIND, and INTO THE FIRESTORM, I hope you will.  

Till next time, happy reading and all best, Kat 

PIVOT EXCERPT 

He hammered in another nail, looked up to see Meriwether Jones running toward him.  With the sun highlighting the gold in her dark hair, damn she was pretty.  "What is it?"

"I can't find Lily.  She isn't in your room." 

Ian dropped the hammer and started back toward the house, Meri hurrying along beside him. 

"She never does this.  She always stays where you tell her."

They shoved through the back door together, walked through the mudroom.  It took a moment for him to register that the dishes were all washed and put away, the countertops wiped clean.  He caught the scent of Lysol as he made his way toward the stairs.

"Lily!" he called out.  "Lily, where are you?"  They went upstairs and searched his bedroom, then the other two upstairs rooms and both baths.  No sign of Lily. 

His worry kicked up as they headed back downstairs and he strode into the den.  "Dad, Lily is missing."

Pivot Purchase Links

AMAZON

Kindle  https://www.amazon.com/Pivot-Kat-Martin-ebook/dp/B07R5QGWB5

Paperback  https://www.amazon.com/Pivot-Kat-Martin/dp/1420151142

Barnes & Noble

Nook  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pivot-kat-martin/1131427033?ean=9781420151152

Paperback  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pivot-kat-martin/1131427033?ean=9781420151145

KOBO  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/pivot-20

GOOGLE  https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kat_Martin_Pivot?id=N9uVDwAAQBAJ

ITUNES  https://books.apple.com/us/book/pivot/id1461885225

INDIEBOUND  https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781420151145

Kat Martin Bio

Bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin.  More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries.  Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film.  Kat’s next hardcover, THE ULTIMATE  BETRAYAL, a Romantic Thriller, will be released on July 28th.

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To Reread or Not Reread

Recently, I decided to reread the classic novels that I had read in school.

Why? 

I came to this decision after hearing a discussion about Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. I had read it in school and I hated it. Which is surprising because I love Edith Wharton. Nothing pulls at my heart like The Age of Innocence. 

As I listened to these two speakers talking about the book, I wondered what had my teenage self missed and what would my adult self discover now.

But I decided that I wouldn't stop with just that novel. This endeavour is more about reading classics. It has become about me seeing how I have changed, how I see the world has changed.

When I read The Age of Innocence as a teenager, I hated that Archer didn't end up with Ellen. To me happiness was all that mattered and to give that up and be miserable with May--pure foolishness to me.

As an adult, I see that ending differently. Archer had a duty to loved ones and would have hurt many people he cared about and perhaps himself. What would have happened too him and the Countess if he had left May. As May wasn't the stupid, blind, weak person I thought her once.

Life has thought me that lesson. Though, I write romance and always have an Happily Ever After in my novels, that doesn't me that I or other romance authors don't see that life doesn't always work that way.

Sometimes, the happily ever after is not the one expected but doesn't hold any less importance. We just have some time and wisdom to see it.