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.