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MsBearlee -> Nouns of multitude - A Game? (12/3/2007 3:24:18 PM)
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AN EXALTATION OF LARKS (Ultimate Edition), by James Lipton (A & E’s interviewer on "Inside the Actors Studio") is the culmination of more than two decades of Lipton's research of "nouns of multitude," which he prefers to call "terms of venery."
Many of these terms are commonplace: plague of locusts, pride of lions, litter of pups. Imagine, though, hearing these expressions for the first time. Lipton invites us to "sharpen our senses by restoring the magic to the mundane."
Lipton identifies six sources of inspiration for the terms. He lists these "Families" with the following examples:
1. Onomatopoeia (the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it): a murmuration of starlings, a gaggle of geese.
2. Characteristic (by far the largest Family): a leap of leopards, a skulk of foxes.
3. Appearance: a knot of toads, a parliament of owls.
4. Habitat: a shoal of bass, a nest of rabbits.
5. Comment: (pro or con depending on viewpoint): a richness of martens, a cowardice of curs.
6. Error: (in transcription or printing; sometimes preserved for centuries): "school" of fish was originally intended to be "shoal."
Lipton believes that a pun or a play on words detracts from the vigor of a term. Alliteration (the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables (as wild and woolly, threatening throngs)), likewise, is unnecessary.
Rather the success of the term hinges on identifying the "quintessential part" of the group of people or things and allowing it to represent the whole: a blur of impressionists, a brood of hens, a quiver of arrows.
One reviewer of the book left a few of her favorites on Amazon.com:
A rash of dermatologists;
A pound of Englishmen;
A solidarity of Poles;
An outback of Aussies;
A quicksand of credit cards;
A thrill of brides;
A convulsion of belly dancers;
An insanity of clauses.
This game, and probably the only one I’ll ever instigate…but lordy I do love words, is to follow the rules stated by Lipton…and come up with some nouns of multitude for anything relating to this…erm….lifestyle. [:D]
I’ll start:
A confidence of Dominants
A dignity of Dominas
A service of submissives
A utility of slaves
A welt of whip-throwers
A disgrace of humiliators ?
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