July 18, 2004

A quiver of cobras and a charm of hummingbirds.
posted by Jerry Garcia 20 years ago
  • An "unkindness" of ravens! That's a lot more polite than the "murder" of ravens I'd read before.
  • It's a murder of crows, no?
  • Aye, if ye will, 'tis grist to my mill, For I'm every day treadin' the Apian Way.
  • And a grist of bees...
  • We're quite a troup, no?
  • Wot about a "swarm" of bees, eh? Once upon a time "grist" used also to mean a rope of so many strands/a certain diameter. Bee-hives from early days in Europe were made of twisted straw ropes -- such hives are termed "skeps" -- there's a picture of a skep type hive under "My Portrait" on my Profile page, if ye care to see one. Bee-keeping was/is a pretty small-scale operation, so cheap straw stayed popular long after hempen rope appeared. More hive pictures here
  • Aw, phutt! -- here.
  • 1848 J. F. Cooper Bee-hunter I. iii. 80 There's an onaccountable grist on 'em [bees].
  • Ain't nothin' like plowin' a clowder of buzzard rippin' 60.
  • I think the humble bacterium is also slighted -- doesn't have a "colony" of bacteria. Jerry Garcia, thanks for this post!
  • You're welcome! I particularly like the ones that seem to "make sense" such as a prickle of porcupines, a bloat of hippoes and a barren of mules. Fun stuff.
  • When I go outside I sniff ambles of humans what's a better name? --my dog
  • A rhumba of rattlesnakes. Best collective noun ever.