# Who's the guy who went and named all the groups of animals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120 "2015-11-20T23:07:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120/21 "2015-11-23T16:00:12Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Haven’t I read somewhere about inventing collective nouns being a sort of Victorian parlor game? [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-364383.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-364383.html) This is what I remember reading. It was a game to see who could come up with the cleverest name. In reality, relatively few people ever actually used these terms. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120/22 "2015-11-23T19:13:22Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > This is what I remember reading. It was a game to see who could come up with the cleverest name. In reality, relatively few people ever actually used these terms. Yep, mostly from a game, then brought back to life by An Exaltation of Larks. By no means are they “real” or “official” except for a few which are really old or some of the newer ones that made themselves into common usage. Pretty much, to a scientist, you can call any group of birds a “flock”. A flock of crows is a 'flock". If you call a group of apes a “shrewdness” they will just think you are a pretentious idiot. If you use “troop” especially for baboons, then that would OK, but not necessary. No one uses “cluster, clutter, glaring, pounce or destruction” for cats. I heard 'clowder"\* once\*. \*\*Rule of thumb- **if it’s a common English word that means something else o_ther than_ grouping-** it’s bogus. \*\* “troop” of baboons, maybe, “shrewdness”- never. If the word is so old like “cete” for badgers- it was likely used at one time, but can be now be relegated to crossword puzzles. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120/23 "2015-11-23T21:00:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > \*\*Rule of thumb- **if it’s a common English word that means something else o_ther than_ grouping-** it’s bogus. \*\* “troop” of baboons, maybe, “shrewdness”- never. If the word is so old like “cete” for badgers- it was likely used at one time, but can be now be relegated to crossword puzzles. In line with this rule, I’ve always thought a “leash of greyhounds” was interesting. In the “olden times” people kept their dogs on [multiple leashes](http://www.goldengreyhounds.com/images/enlight1.jpg), and these days, those of us with a pack also walk them on [multiple leashes](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-daI6nUDi84U/TiNnXsTwX5I/AAAAAAAABLw/IMqRD8V-f_o/s1600/JoanneWalkingPack.JPG). So it stretches the definition of leash, I think. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120/24 "2015-11-24T19:27:02Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > In line with this rule, I’ve always thought a “leash of greyhounds” was interesting. In the “olden times” people kept their dogs on [multiple leashes](http://www.goldengreyhounds.com/images/enlight1.jpg), and these days, those of us with a pack also walk them on [multiple leashes](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-daI6nUDi84U/TiNnXsTwX5I/AAAAAAAABLw/IMqRD8V-f_o/s1600/JoanneWalkingPack.JPG). So it stretches the definition of leash, I think. The term of a “leash” of greyhounds (i.e., 3) goes back to the Medieval era and is related to their use in hunting, particularly hares or deer: you would release two (a “brace”) or three dogs after the animal, and they would cooperate in hunting it. For hare, which change course and dodge a lot, having multiple dogs helps keep at least one of them close to the hare when it “turns”; for deer, you need multiple dogs to overpower and restrain the animal after it has been downed (greyhounds aren’t that strong). There were (and are) special leashes for this purpose designed to allow one person to manage all of the dogs and release them simultaneously. Since dogs weren’t generally walked on leashes except for hunting, it’s not really stretching the definition. ---
**Author:** ![ToughLife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@ToughLife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToughLife)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120/25 "2015-11-24T20:23:21Z")
> [@](#): > > A bundle of faggots > [@](#): > > A bench of magistrates also A Wunch of Bankers ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120/26 "2015-11-24T21:53:42Z")
A Fraid of Ghosts. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120/27 "2015-11-25T03:40:14Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’ve also heard, in that tale, the suggestion: “A chapter of Trollope’s”. I always heard “an essay of Trollope’s”. Also a “pride of loins” sometimes is in there. And the strumpets are often a florish, not a fanfare. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120/28 "2015-11-25T14:47:21Z")
> [@ToughLife](#): > > also > > A Wunch of Bankers LOL! I see what you did there! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-guy-who-went-and-named-all-the-groups-of-animals/738120.md?page=1)