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Groupies
Updated -- 1 April 2005
Also known as Collectives...
Just in case you thought this link would give you some hints on how to avoid being classified by the powers-that-be as a bunch of sheep with a predictable herd instinct, or on the contrary, getting together with groups of like minds and doing incredible work... Get used to disappointment. This link is purely for fun! (And education. Albeit when you think about it, education is fun! Both for the Educator and the Educatee!)
Collectives (or groupies) -- in our strange little manner of definitions -- include all manner of beings. For example, you can have herds of: antelope, asses, politicians [pardon the repetition], buffalo, caribou, cattle, deer, elephants, giraffe, goats, horses, kangaroos, moose, reindeer, seal, swan, swine, more politicians, walrus, whale, and zebras.
But many different groupies form new and interesting collectives. For example:
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asses also congregate as a pace, drove, or a Democratic Party caucus,
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buffalo as a troop or gang,
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cattle as a drove, or a Republican Party caucus
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deer as a leash,
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giraffe as a corps or troop,
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goats as a tribe, trip or flock,
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horses as a haras, stable, remuda, string, field, set, pair, or team,
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kangaroo as a mob or troop,
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seal as a pod, trip, rookery, or harem,
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swan as a team, bank, wege, or bevy,
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swine as a drift, sounder, trip (litter), or a University of Arkansas fan club,
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walrus as a pod, and
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whale in a pod, gam, or school.
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There are a lot of troops (including boy scouts, army members, etceteras). But there are also a fair number of nests, such as a collective of vipers. But then:
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ants also get together in a colony, army, state, or swarm,
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bees in a swarm, grists, cluster, hive, or erst,
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pheasants in a nide,
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peasants in a mob, and
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termites in a colony, swarm, or brood.
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It might be essential for you to know that:
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a collective of bears is a sleuth or sloth,
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beavers form a family or colony,
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camels form a flock, train, or caravan,
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chickens form a flock, run, brood, clutch, or peep,
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dogs a pack, hounds a cry or mute, and greyhounds a leash,
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ducks a brace, team, paddling, raft, bed, flock, or flight,
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foxes form a leash, skulk, cloud, or troop,
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geese form on land a flock, on water a gaggle or plump, in flight a skein, and in Congress, senators and representatives
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leopards form a leap (sounds like fun),
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lions a pride, troop, flock, sawt, or souse,
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partridges a covey,
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quail a bevy and a covey, and
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sheep follow other sheep in a flock, drove, trip, pack, hirsel, or ________ (you fill in the blank)
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On the other hand, you probably don’t need to know that:
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caterpillars or frogs can form an army (but seldom go to war with each other),
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clams or oysters form a bed (but it’s strictly platonic between them),
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gnats, grasshoppers, flies and locusts form separate (but equal) clouds, (gnats also showing up as a horde), and
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toads form a knab or a knot, while snakes form only a knot,
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For the sake of completion, we should point out that you can also encounter:
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a cete of badgers,
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a flight or volery of birds,
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a chatter of budgerigars,
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a sedge or siege of cranes,
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a murder of crows,
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a gang of elk,
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a business or hatch of flies,
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a charm of goldfinches,
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a troubling of goldfish,
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a band of gorillas,
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a down or husk of hares,
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a cast of hawks,
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a scattering of herons,
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a brood or smuck of jellyfish,
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an exaltation of larks (a particular favorite),
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a flock of lice,
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a plague of locusts,
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a tittering of magpies,
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a steam of minnows,
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a cartload or troop of monkeys,
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a span of mules,
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a watch of nightingales,
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a yoke of oxen,
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a colony of penguins,
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a congregation or wing of plovers,
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a crash of rhinoceros (i.e. more than one Rhinoceros Unicornis)
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a family of sardines,
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a host of sparrows,
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a dray of squirrels,
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a murmuration of starlings,
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a mustering of storks,
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a spring of teals,
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a hover of trout,
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a bale or dole of turtles,
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a dule of turtle doves,
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a duel of banjos,
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a pladge of wasps,
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a pack of weasels, and
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a descent of woodpeckers.
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But of all of the collectives, my personal favorite is:
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A Convocation of Eagles.
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Speaking of those who fly, there are also the specific groupings of birds. These bird calls include such delights a Congress of Crows, a Parliament of Owls, a Piteousness of Doves, a Troubling of Hummingbirds, a Deceit of Lapwings, a Raft of Loons, a Company of Parrots, an Ostentation of Peacocks, a Conspiracy of Ravens, a Parliament of Rooks (of Crooks), and a Muster of Turkeys. And these are just our elected officials.
But of the birdbrains, I suspect another of my favorites is a Flamboyance of Flamingos.
Meanwhile, John Lamont-Black wanted to add:
a FLOURISH of actors
a DEPRESSION of head teachers
an ABSENCE of professors.
Faction Two Factions Cartels Hierarchy
Sovereignty Money The Federal Reserve Anarchy Revolution
Nature of Law Justice Liberty Justice, Order, and Law
Forward to:
Why We Are Here Sweat Shops Hemp Project Independence
The Fat Lady Is Singing Omegan’s Great Door The Lord of the Rings
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