January 31, 2013--The Collective Names of Animals

Have you ever wondered why a group of lions is called a "pride"? Or a flock of quail a "bevy"? Or a lot of caterpillars an "army"?

To tell you the truth, though I find these designations fascinating, I have no idea whatsoever why all groups of four-legged land animals aren't called "herds" since "herd," etymologically, is derived from archaic words that mean "group" or "line."

"Herd," therefore, for herd animals would do just fine. Yet, we have a "brace" of bucks.

Here are some of my other favorites. A few collective names make sense and are even witty, like a "culture" of bacteria and a "scourge" of mosquitos. They are a scourge and thus well named.

But what about--

Flange of baboons
Shrewdness of apes
Sloth of bears
Rabble of butterflies
Clowder of cats
Cart load of chimps
Charm of goldfinches
Crush of hippopotami
Smack of jellyfish
Leap of leopards
Plague of locusts
Mischief of mice
Parliament of moles
String of ponies
Bob of seals
Bed of snakes
Streak of tigers
Knot of toads
Bale of turtles
Sneak of weasels
Zeal of zebras

In coming up with these collective names, alliteration and a little humor surely help--mischief of mice and sneak of weasels, for example.

And for those of you who are crossworders, I hope this list proves helpful.