3 ms·

Many will have heard the collective noun for crows via the Simpsons episode reference or otherwise (a “murder of crows”), but ravens get one of my absolute favo

Many will have heard the collective noun for crows via the Simpsons episode reference or otherwise (a “murder of crows”), but ravens get one of my absolute favorites: an “unkindness of ravens”.

kzrdude 7y ago
What's the real story of these supposedly normative collective nouns? They don't seem to stem from natural development of the english language, rather seem to have been poetically constructed at some point — is that true?
- kd0amg 7y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_noun#Terms_of_venery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_noun#Terms_of_vener... > intended as a mark of erudition of the gentlemen able to use them correctly rather than for practical communication
  - iak8god 7y ago
    Here's the relevant page in Archive's scan of The Book of Saint Albans: https://archive.org/details/cu31924031031184/page/n111 https://archive.org/details/cu31924031031184/page/n111
erikig 7y ago
I’ve also heard of a “conspiracy of ravens” used too
- protomyth 7y ago
  I thought "conspiracy" was used for owls.
  - hultner 7y ago
    No that's a pairlarment.
  - 1_player 7y ago
    It's a parliament of owls, and I think it fits perfectly.