Let's collect some new collective nouns

[Musicat]

James Randi has suggested a new game.

I’ve invented a few collective nouns, which I think is a distinct service to the language. (A collective noun is one that designates a group of specific things. For example, the collective noun for “sheep” is “flock,” and for “geese” – when not flying! – is “gaggle.”) I choose to refer to a gathering of psychics as a “giggle,” for conmen, it’s a “fleece,” and for prophets, a “failure.” One wag on the JREF Forum came up with “Congress” as a collective for conmen, but that was unkind. I use an “absence” for a group of homeopaths, I refer to a “confusion” of parapsychologists, and a “cackle” of witches. Palmists are gathered as a “handful,” it’s a “struggle” of astrologers, and more than three phrenologists become a “bump.” And a group of spoonbenders can be called, a “desperation.”

Any more contributions Dopers can make to this growing list?

[Spoons]

A suit of lawyers?
A growth of farmers?
A frame of filmmakers?
A watchdog of ailurophobes?

[pinkfreud]

A haggle of bargain-hunters.

[Musicat]

A dabble of Dopers?

[MadTheSwine]

A felony of footballer players.

[Mindfield]

Nah, for us lot, I suggest one of:

- A Quibble of Dopers
- A Panel of Dopers
- A Nitpick of Dopers
- A Citation of Dopers

For others:

- A Parcel of Postal Workers
- A Chord of Guitarists
- A Lumber of Woodworkers
- A Brace of Orthodontists
- A Plague of Epidemiologists
- A Fifth of Bartenders
- A Mickey of Alcoholics
- A Field of Electricians
- A Rack of Exotic Dancers
- A Spit of PETA Members

Hey, this is fun.

[descamisado]

A motherfuck of masturbaters.

[Triskadecamus]

A case of judges.
A plot of screenwriters.
An aftermath of emergency workers.
A babble of idiots.
Two redundancies of bureaucrats.

Tris

[descamisado]

a vein of miners
a boat of rowers

[gotpasswords]

A queue of waiters

A flip of short-order cooks

A glass of bartenders

A fidget of children

A rinse of dentists

A clip of barbers

A jitter of baristas

A book of authors

[Kairos]

It's not necessarily clever, but knitbloggers often refer to a group of knitters as a "whack of knitters ."

[Spoons]

A keg of frat boys
A shutter of photographers
A snap of football players
A hail of cabbies
A flight of superheroes
A bowl of pipe smokers

[Fretful Porpentine]

A confusion of Hamlets. (I used this as the heading for a handout on the different quarto and folio texts once, and I think it is appropriate on many levels.)

[GrizzRich]

a drop of hangmen
a groom of barbers
a squint of opticians
a glimpse of opthamologists
a stem of wine enthusiasts
a stitch of tailors
a knot of sailors
a grunt of marines

and, my fave...
a click (clique) of nerds!

[Monty]

A litter of cigarette butts.

[Fern Forest]

Ahem. It's obvious that we are a joint of dopers.

[DrDeth]

Originally Posted by Musicat

James Randi has suggested a new game.Any more contributions Dopers can make to this growing list?

Hardly new. It's Victorian, AFAIK.

[Musicat]

Originally Posted by DrDeth

Hardly new. It's Victorian, AFAIK.

Randi's contribution to this game was in the realm of the paranormal, and that was new to me.

[Napier]

A fencing of postings?
A weave of threads?
A dopest of Dopers?
A fivem of forums?

[OtakuLoki]

A vanity of officers

[Savannah]

Not original; I heard it on CBC radio: An apology of Canadians.

[fifty-six]

A raffle of lotto winners
A failing of presidents
A boom of terrorists
A Graham of Google ads

[Hostile Dialect]

fifty-six, why Graham?

[fifty-six]

Originally Posted by fetus

fifty-six, why Graham?

I was trying to think of a collective something.

So I did a bit of surfing (checked the 35+tabs I had open. To get some ideas.)

And noticed the glut of Google adds.


I considered a gogol of Google ads or something of the like but it was not to clever.

So in an attempt to be more clever I decided to find a another named number to describe a collective of Google ads.

So I used a name of a an inconceivably large number to describe the ads of a company named after another large number. The funny twist is that Graham seems like something small. The ads are not generally annoying (small) but they are sure numerous. (large)

[Spatial Rift 47]

A vocabulary of collective nouns.