Coming across the term a “covey of quails” in a novel prompted me to research collective nouns that enrich our vocabulary. Some I know: murder of crows, bevy of beauties, pride of lions. Many I do not: ostentation of peacocks, damning of jurors, shrewdness of apes. I decided to devise a quiz — for fun on Friday. Today’s challenge: match each of the dozen collective nouns below with its partner.
| 1. parliament | 1. bachelors |
| 2. misbelief | 2. arrows |
| 3. charm | 3. ravens |
| 4. score | 4. owls |
| 5. sleuth | 5. finches |
| 6. knot | 6. writers |
| 7. hail | 7. salmon |
| 8. tissue | 8. bears |
| 9. draught | 9. painters |
| 10. unkindness | 10. toads |
| 11. quiver | 11. lies |
| 12. worship | 12. bullets |
Thank you James Lipton, creator, executive producer, writer, and host of “Inside the Actors Studio”, for writing An Exaltation of Larks (1991), a compendium of over 1100 resurrected or newly minted contributions to the ever-changing English language.
Click on ANSWERS to find out your score. Kudos — though no cash prizes — to anyone who matches seven or more. •
P.S. Please add your favourite, quirky collective nouns in the comments.
Catherine Mccallum says
What fun. I love this stuff. I only got 8. I didn’t know the bachelors or writers. Being a birder once here are a few of my favorite descriptions:
A bouquet of pheasants, a building of rooks, a murmuration of starlings, a kettle of hawks, a rafter of turkeys, a peep of chickens, a tidings of magpies and a watch of nightingales.
Pam McPhail says
Dare I confess I only know three of your delightful eight?! Thanks for the additions, Cathy.
Ken McLean says
I only got 4. The misbelief of painters and worship of writers strike me as rather farcical. The others do make some sense.
Pam McPhail says
The origin of the misbelief of painters: The painter’s aim was to create ‘misbelief’ in the viewers of his work, that is, create an erroneous belief of beauty, even when there wasn’t any. This collective noun achieved wide popularity due to its use in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, a children’s book series penned by C S Lewis in the early 1950’s. I added the one about writers for fun not because I know its root.
Ken McLean says
A bunch of rather narcissistic writers must have come up with that one.
Pam McPhail says
I surmised along a similar line, Ken, thinking “worship” reflects the vanity of the writer(s) who conceived the collective noun.
TIM MCPHAIL says
An Enjoyment of Sunset Years
Pam McPhail says
Ahh. Very nice!😊
Marilyn RB says
I didn’t know many of these. What a fun and colourful use of language! Two of my favourites are “convocation of eagles” and “congress of baboons” with the latter being quite apt today. The last time we were in Squamish at least a dozen eagles soared overhead. “Convocation” described their association perfectly. I still get goosebumps to recall it. Thanks Pam! you come up with such unique reflections. I like the collective noun offered by one of your readers, “The Enjoyment of Sunset Years.”
Pam McPhail says
You mention two excellent examples that can be used in our conversations of today. In Stanley Park I often encounter a scurry of squirrels but no longer a band of coyotes, which proliferated during the pandemic.
Thank you, Marilyn, for your gracious compliment of my blog.