The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific concepts What is the collective noun for a group of ...

When there’s more of one thing, we refer to the term, “collective noun” to describe the group. When I was a kid, I ran around with my “gang.” We were the guys that played sandlot baseball part of the ...

Collective nouns may seem like quirky ways to describe groups, but 500 years ago, they were your ticket to the in-crowd. Most collective nouns, or “terms of venery,” were coined during the 15th ...

In a warehouse near you, a shipment of Apple tablets arrives from China. "Get the trolleys," wails the foreman. "This rectangulation of iPad 2s won't shift itself!" The choice of collective noun might ...

Collective nouns are an essential part of language. While we may not use them as often in our daily conversations, we did memorise some of them in school. From a pack of cards to a litter of puppies, ...

Naming collective nouns is a time-honored alliteration of bards dating back to medieval days. Their linguistic talents have bequeathed to the English language some intriguing terms, especially for ...

Every once in a while I stumble on an interesting collective noun, usually for animals: a parliament of owls, a knot of toads, an exaltation of larks. I have heard an "awkward" suggested as an ...

The couple is going to purchase the house? Or the couple are going to purchase the house? Even after all my years of editing, I can still get tripped up trying to make verbs agree with collective ...

Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter An aurora of polar bears, an ostentation of peacocks, an embarrassment of pandas... Collective nouns, the terms used to described a ...