A lamentation of swans

[nq:1]Hi all, Can anyone confirm whether the phrase "a lamentation of swans" is the correct collective description for a number ... English or perhaps American? I can't seem to find any definitive reference, and only 25 google hits doesn't convince me.[/nq]
You'll have to explain what your standards are for deeming any of those uses "correct." Nobody really talks about a lamentation of swans,

[nq:1]Hi all, Can anyone confirm whether the phrase "a lamentation of swans" is the correct collective description for a number of swans[/nq]
No - it's a piece of fakery.

Paul
My Lake District walking site (updated 29th September 2003): http://paulrooney.netfirms.com

[nq:1]Hi all, Can anyone confirm whether the phrase "a lamentation of swans" is the correct collective description for a number ... English or perhaps American? I can't seem to find any definitive reference, and only 25 google hits doesn't convince me.[/nq]
How many hits would it take to convince you? There are words I am convinced of the correctness of that yield fewer than 25 Google hits.

[nq:1]I dislike all those "terms of venery" I've seen very little evidence that any real people ever used them, and a certain amount that people sat around and made them up out of thin air.[/nq]
I agree with this completely. I participate in online trivia chat rooms, and I hate pop-culture questions (because can seldom answer any), but the questions I hate the most are collective noun and phob

[nq:1] There are likewise lists of obscure phobias floating around on the internet that people seem to know and love, ... they actually constitute medical terms, and, indeed, if anyone has ever been diagnosed with some of the more ridiculous ones.[/nq]
Blatant neologophobia, Seb.
Matti

[nq:1]I dislike all those "terms of venery" I've seen very little evidence that any real people ever used them, and a certain amount that people sat around and made them up out of thin air.[/nq]
You mean there's no coterie of prairie dogs?

(Email Removed) filted:
[nq:2]I dislike all those "terms of venery" I've seen ... sat around and made them up out of thin air.[/nq]
[nq:1]You mean there's no coterie of prairie dogs?[/nq]
I think Donna's overreacting here...I can't bring myself to say "a bunch of lions attacked a whole group of zebras"...some of those terms are simply obligatory goats in trips, whales in pods and to sa

R H Draney (Email Removed) wrote on 30 Nov 2003:
[nq:2]You mean there's no coterie of prairie dogs?[/nq]
[nq:1]I think Donna's overreacting here...I can't bring myself to say "a bunch of lions attacked a whole group of zebras"...some of those terms are simply obligatory goats in trips, whales in pods and to say anything else is as awkward as eating sushi with a fork..r[/nq]
Whales in p

Hi Gerald and Matti,
Yes, on the whole I agree with you. However, I needed to know this one to save face :-)
Here are some references:

1. Dame Julyan Bernes' 15th century book of hunting & fishing etc.
2. James Lipton's book "An Exaltation of Larks".

His second edition (1977) added lots more collective terms suggested by readers of the first.
Regards,
Jon

[nq:1]I didn't know that goatherds were daytrippers.[/nq]
It took you soo long to find out, but you found out.

Dena Jo
Delete "delete.this.for.email" for email.