A collective romp
A few months ago a client bought me this coaster as a gift. We’d stumbled upon a shared love of nature, language and collective nouns during a marketing project meeting a couple of weeks earlier. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to see a wild otter. So my heart leapt when my birthday present this year was a day’s otter safari. Mission accomplished!
A romp, a murder and a prickle
All of the above has inspired this month’s Noble Oxtale, so please take a minute to join us for a light-hearted and collective romp! Most of us appreciate the wordplay of collective nouns, especially when it comes to nature: a romp of otters, a murder of crows, a prickle of hedgehogs and a business of ferrets. Yes, it really is a business of ferrets! But what about the language of business itself? Once again, it’s predictably dull.
A collective romp through the language of business
With tongue firmly in cheek, we’ve had a go.
- a charm of sellers
- a pride of producers
- a top dog of directors
- a bottom line of accountants
- a balance of bookkeepers
- a (merry!) brand of marketers
- a draft of copywriters
- a hook of publicists
- a concept of designers
- a platform of developers
- a coach of trainers
- a train of coaches
- a jargon of consultants!
What do you think? All suggestions most welcome, the more imaginative the better.
A team of Noble Oxen
As for Oxen, noble or otherwise, there’s a collection of collective nouns! So take your pick from a drove, a yoke, a herd, a span and a team of oxen. Look forward to your thoughts!