|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347
enthusiast
|
OP
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347 |
A friend asked me today "With all your word knowledge and connections, can you solve a problem I've been chewing over for quite a while? What is the collective noun for wizards? I know it's a coven of witches, but what do you get of wizards??"Well, my knowledge (on this) is zilch, and you, folks, are those "connections" he speaks of. So, please, for the sake of my reputation, not to mention your own, roll up your sleeves, put on those thinking caps and come up with an answer. And in partial non-response (perhaps I mean nonsense response) to the question, here's a good site that I Googled in my attempt to answer him: http://www.ojohaven.com/collectives/ Just don't get side-tracked from your mission by the cleverness there.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
What is the collective noun for wizards?
In honour of the most financially successful of all wizards, how about a kiln?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
a conventicle of wizards (serious)
a conjuring of wizards (jocoserious)
a spelling... nah
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
I like 'conventicle'.
I imagine them standing round in a circle so I might say:
'a round of wizards'
'a ring of wizards'
or
back to the Celtic theme and Druids who were often sages, shamans (or shamen :-) and mystics maybe:
'an order of wizards'
... o.k., o.k. .... maybe not
Come to think of it, were/are wizards not for the most part Einzelgaenger?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
No answer to be found in the Harry Potter books ?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I think it was in the late 1700's, it was a sort of parlour game to make up words for different groups of animals. Only a small number of the ones proposed at that time are still current. Perhaps some one of our learned participants can remember the source which eludes me.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
You are right, wwh, the British upper crust amused themselves with creating witty collective nouns, mostly for animals subject to the hunt. They are thus called terms of venery. Some of my favorites include, a parliament of owls, a murder of crows, and a crash of rhinos. There is a wonderful book, An Exhaltation of Larks, which compiles many collective nouns. I'll check the author's name when I get home. Leaving out most of the story -> I once wrote a letter to a radio station discussing collective nouns, and suggesting one for chocolate penises. If you ever hear the term, a lick of chocolate penises, you'll know from whence it came. 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
by James Lipton (host of the "Actor's Studio" interviews)
an indifference of waiters
a lot of used-car dealers
an unction of undertakers (for a large group, an extreme unction)
a void of urologists
a pile of proctlogists
an odium of politicians
a pan of reviewers
a conjunction of grammarians
a score of bachelors
etc.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
A book of linguaphiles.
A rifle of sharpshooters.
A riding of horsemen.
A trail of hikers.
A house of realtors.
A beaker of chemists.
A script of playwrights.
A font of webmasters.
A lens of photographers.
Somebody stop me, please! If any of the above were the same as in the book, the resemblance is purely coincidental.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347
enthusiast
|
|
OP
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347 |
Thanks for the suggestions (so far, feel free to keep going). I passed a few of them on to the original inquirer, and was a little bemused to learn that he wanted to use the word to describe his company's latest software product. Apparently it has a lot of wizards in it! 
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,712
Members9,187
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
231
guests, and
1
robot. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
