March 2025 SOLC–Day 27
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org
This post also serves as a Poetry Friday piece today. If you’re interested in checking out what’s on offer poetically, Marcie Flinchum Atkins is hosting the Roundup at her blog.
I’m a big fan of words and I’m especially delighted by collective nouns. Collective nouns for birds always tickle my fancy. I know that there’s a parliament of owls, a charm of goldfinches and a murder of crows. Then I discovered this winter that a group of titmice is called a banditry. How cool is that?
Just now I googled a group of butterflies. It can be called a swarm, or ….are you ready? …a kaleidoscope! Ah-mazing! I love that so much!
It’s 100% fun to make up your own collective nouns though, and I highly recommend it. I will warn you though–it’s addictive! How about a gift of bluebirds? A cacophany of students? Or a plague of houseguests? Oh! Maybe a hemorrhoid of houseguests? lol See what I mean!? Collective nouns can also express some deep and darker emotions. How about these: a complicity of judges? a cesspool of Senators? a hypocrisy of evangelists? an abdication of Republicans?
As I’ve been jotting down ideas, I thought it might be fun to write some small poems with created collective nouns. I have inadvertently gone with a flower theme. Maybe it’s my yearning for the arrival of spring? Anyway, they might not all work, but it’s been fun playing!
from drab winter debris
a chorus of crocuses
rises and sings
©Molly Hogan
a dizziness of daisies
spins across the field
the day tilts to joy
©Molly Hogan
a pride of dandelions
runs rampant across the lawn
seeding future wishes
©Molly Hogan
Can you add a favorite collective noun to the mix? A known one, or one that you’ve created? I’d love to see it in the comments!
Nix the comfort zone 
This is fantastic and yes, I am going to see if I can come up with my own collective nouns-a nanny basket of nouns. 🙂
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I warn you, it’s an addictive practice!
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Such fabulous collective nouns! I want to collect them. I can’t pick a favorite. Can I steal this for poetry month with my students? I’d love to see what they come up with.
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Of course! I would also love to see what they come up with. It’s so much fun!
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Such creative energy here! I love your poems, especially the dizziness of daisies. I think I’ll start a collection, too.
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Thanks! Have fun!
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I adore the copyrights on those hahaha. Raft of otters and tower of giraffes. But if I had to make one, there’s a den of dust bunnies living under my couch. Cute. Thanks for sharing.
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Love your “den of dust bunnies”. That’s perfect!
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What fun is this! I love the pride of dandelions seeding future wishes!
Kim
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That was my favorite
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Oh, my goodness, Molly. This is delightful. I love all the collective nouns you’ve created. Especially the “deep and darker emotion” ones. I love how a “dizziness of daisies” makes “the day tilt to joy.”
How about a nonsense of texters?
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Oh, that’s a good one!
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Molly, I ran across an idea for a poetry prompt I started sometime ago. I wonder if you would collaborate on it with me and add the element of making up collective nouns. I will email you and see what you think!
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What a fun slice! I have always thought a murder of crows was hilarious. Who comes up with these, anyway? Your poem is wonderful and I love your made-up collective nouns!
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Thanks! I’ve been thinking of more of them all weekend. Creating poems with them added to the fun.
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A Latrine of tRumpster
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tRumpsters.
Forgot to pleuralize it.
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Molly! You got me chuckling at “hemorrhoids” and sighing at “dizziness.” Thank you! xo
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Glad you enjoyed them, Irene! I can’t stop thinking of more!
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Just yesterday, AJ shared with me one from John McPhee: “A decibel of schoolchildren.”
Perfect, right? As are all of yours, especially in poem form.
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I love “decibel of schoolchildren.” Adding collective nouns to poems was quite fun, and I’m hoping to play around some more.
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I absolutely love this idea! How about a caucus of cardinals or an ensemble of songbirds.
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Oh, I love an “ensemble of songbirds”!
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I love your creativity, Molly, and have always adored the collective nouns I’ve discovered through the years! This is priceless: “cacophany of students”! And, of course, I adore your political ones! Ha! Do you know the book “An Exaltation of Larks, James Lipton? It is full of your collective nouns!
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I don’t know the book, although the title sounds familiar…I’ll have to look for it at the library. Thanks!
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I call dibs on reuse rights for the hypocrisy of evangelists. That’s a GOOD one.
Giggling from my yard’s pride of dandelions – which will soon enough be a drift of dandelion clocks…
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I love “drift of dandelion clocks”!
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So much fun! Hemorrhoid of houseguests? Perfect! You have got me thinking!
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You can capture a lot of attitude in a collective noun! lol
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So much fun! Hemorrhoid of houseguests? Perfect! You have got me thinking!
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I love collective nouns, too. –And love reading made up ones–they are all so clever! Yours are wonderful, and your poems just gorgeous. I can’t choose a favorite–they’re all so delightful! (perhaps “a delight” of poems?) Have you read the poem “Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild”? It is beautiful and devastating. https://jellyfishreview.wordpress.com/2017/10/13/collective-nouns-for-humans-in-the-wild-by-kathy-fish/
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I had forgotten all about that poem, but I have read it. Thank you for reminding me about it–beautiful and devastating for sure.
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Wonderful poems, Molly! (I like Natasha’s “a delight of poems.”) Although everyone loves it, I heard that corvidologists (not sure what the actual word is) prefer not to use “murder” with crows because of its connotations. Other options include “a parliament of crows” and “a storytelling of crows”– I wish I knew why!
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It would be fun to look into the origins of the most interesting collective nouns.
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Word play is always a delight, Molly. I can sense your delight as you speculate on the potential use of collective nouns. It is abundantly obvious you are enjoying the words swirling around you. I was looking for a collective noun for sitck insects on Thursday, but apparently, they missed out, so now its up to us to provide a suitable label. What fun awaits…
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I hope you share what you come up with for those stick insects. A bundle, maybe?
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What fun to play with collective nouns. I loved all your poems. I know that a stanza of poets who stop by today will get a much needed smile:) Thank you!
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Stanza of poets–so clever!
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A dizziness of daisies is so fun! As is “cesspool of senators” — though I must say, I’ve been so grateful for mine lately!
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I’m glad to know that your Senator inspires gratitude. I have one Senator who is doing good work. The other expresses a lot of “concern” but does little.
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Our family has always had fun with collective nouns too (real and made-up-by-us.) 🙂 I love your “dizziness of daisies”!
Some of my favorite collective nouns:
Murmuration of starlings, exaltation of larks, charm of hummingbirds
I also love “thicket of idiots.”
Some that we made up:
flutter of fairies, pentameter of poets, palette of poets, blather of bloggers, rondeau of readers, an institute of librarians, a canvas of artists
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a passel of puppies
a delight of doggies
a cascade of canines(this IS fun!)
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Ha! Very creative Molly! My creative brain is getting back on track but I’m not ready for these yet! I really enjoyed reading yours, though! Thanks for sharing.
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[…] (Read more of Molly’s blog post, “Fun with Collective Nouns” at her Nix the Comfort Zone blog.) […]
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