[Dixielandjazz] Collective nouns are wisdom in a word.

[Daniel S. Augustine]

    Interesting post, Don.
    Another tuba player (me), who used to work in a bookstore, recommends in this vein the book called "An Exaltation of Larks", by James Lipton.  Here's part of a review of it:

"A gaggle of geese. A school of fish. But how about a cast of hawks? Or a stud of mares? Intead of animals, how about an impudence of peddlers? Or a melody of harpists? In football, a huddle of players or a cuss of coaches. How about a patch of quilters or a catchword of crossword puzzlers?

This is a fun word book. Lipton has researched terms of venery back to the fifteenth century and before. The game of venery is to notice a group of something and give it a double meaning description. For example, a few men notice a group of prostitutes. One mutters, "A jam of tarts" while another says, "No, a flourish of strumpets" and a third says "A peal of Jezebels." They are playing the game of venery."
(http://www.jandysbooks.com/nonfic/larks.html)

    The book is apparently still in print, but your library may also have it.
    What might a group of jazz musicians be called?  A riff of jazzers?  A crash of drummers?  A blatt of tubists?  A honk of saxers?

    Dan
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From: Don Ingle <cornet at 1010internet.com>
Date: August 17, 2011 9:51:36 AM CDT
To: ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Collective nouns are wisdom in a word.

Leave it to a tuba player friend to discover these words of wisdom. Doc Ball of Michigan strikes again.

The English language has some wonderfully anthropomorphic collective nouns for groups of animals.

There is a Pride of lions, a Murder of crows (as well as their cousins the rooks and ravens), a School of fish, an Exaltation of doves and, presumably because they look so wise, a Parliament of owls.

Now consider the baboon. The loudest, most dangerous and viciously aggressive of all primates. And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons - a **Congress.**

Sometimes witticisms just write themselves, don't they?

Jazz connection:  "You're gunna look just like a monkey when you grow old." (as sung by Nappy LaMar with the Bobcats.)

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**  Dan Augustine  --  Austin, Texas  --  ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu
**      "My use of words is just some antics." -- Biff Rose           
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