There are flocks of birds, and herds of cattle; is there a “murder” of crows? The question comes about because the music group “Counting Crows” has a song title named “A murder of one”. Said title is oxy-moronic as is “An army of one”. This could go on, but I feel someone has a clear answer.
Yes. It’s in the dictionary. Look under “murder”.
I’ve always heard that. Murder of crows, pride of lions, troop of monkeys, crash of rhinoceri, gaggle or skein of geese, etc.
Well, it’s not in all dictionaries. Neither Merriam-Webster online not my 1987 MW hardcover contains the “flock of crows” definition.
But they are listing definitions from mainly an American perspective.
There’s even a so-so movie called A Murder of Crows http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133985/
Huh. You’re right. I apologize. I only checked AHD, which is what I usually use. It isn’t often that something like this will only be in one or the other, but it does happen; I should have checked.
Ahhhh! Makes the title of this new album make A LOT more sense. Thanks!
I’ll put one foot in Cafe Society territory and say that the new Incubus CD is pretty good. Like their last one, it took a few listens to grow on me. The name is one that requires just a second of thought aobut its significance.
To begin this post back to relevance, I heard the local rock station DJ trying to explain to his morning-show sidekick what the “murder” thing was about.
A search for {murder crows} or {exultation larks} will pull up a tapestry of threads on this subject.
This thread, for example, comes to the general conclusion that most of these collective noun names are cutesy diversions that are never really used by the general public. And what’s the definition of a word no one uses?
Let’s face it, when you see a group of birds, you’ll say ‘flock’ and not ‘exultation,’ ‘murder,’ ‘slaughter,’ or ‘parliament.’ (OK, maybe you’ll say ‘gaggle.’)
Peace.
We’re saying it right now. 
Do a google search with the exact phrase “collective nouns”.
Here is one website I found:
http://rinkworks.com/words/collective.shtml
There are MANY others. Some websites include totally contrived words such as a ‘ponder of philosophers’.
Here’s 3 more collective nouns: flypaper, wastebasket and vaccuum cleaner.
That’s exaltation of larks, which was also the name of a book on the subject.
Some of these collective nouns are authentic, although archaic, and were formerly in general use by common people. Others, especially the more fanciful ones, were coined either in the Middle Ages as hunting terms by the aristocracy, or in the Victorian era.
One of these ‘fanciful’ terms that survives in common use is “a pride of lions,” which (IIRC) seems to have come into use later than either “exaltation of larks” or “murder of crows.”
Where did you find that ‘a tapestry of threads’ one?
How poetic!
Did you make that one up yourself, moriah? I like it!
Ummm… ‘an unused word’ ?
‘A whatchamacallit’ ?
I’ve got a whole 1600-page thingamajig of whatchamacallits right here on the shelf, and I’ll bet you do, to!
The expression has been around for centuries, but it really took off after it was mentioned in the early 90s Sandman comic book. That comic’s cover artist, Dave McKean, also designed the album cover of Counting Crows’ A Murder of One, so it’s a good bet that someone in the band was a Sandman fan.
Thanks, I’ve created a whole piggy bank of coined collecive nouns.
Peace.