I can't count the number of times I've worked on naming projects involving groups, crowds, or collections (usually of intangible stuff like information). I thought I knew every collective noun in English--and in a few other languages, too--but somehow until now I'd missed fluther.
I discovered the meaning of fluther at Fluther, a filtered question-and-answer site where users post and respond to questions. It's not the only such site--Yahoo Answers is the most popular destination in the category--but it's one of the newer ones (it launched in June 2007), and its witty design and elegant typography help distinguish it from the pack/covey/gaggle/knot/flotilla.
I especially appreciated this paragraph on the What Is Fluther? page:
A fluther is a group of jellyfish, like a gaggle of geese (or a taint of tilapia).
“Fluther” is pronounced /'flʌ ðɚ/. It rhymes with “brother” and “mother”.
Nice to know, because I'd been stuck between Luther and flutter.
Also nice: the general intelligence of the questions (and responses). For example:
"Safe Haven laws: good or promoting secrecy and usurping parental rights""
"How did women's clothing sizes come about?"
"What are the advantages of mobile banking?"
Even the whimsy is classy; check out "What do the Fluther jellyfish resemble to you?"
Hat tip to Ari Herzog, who cross-posted his Fluther question--"What year could you buy a home telephone at a store?"--on Twitter. (I had supposed 1984, the year of the Ma Bell breakup, but apparently it was considerably earlier.)
P.S. For reasons unknown to me, the University of California Golf Club has posted this list of collective nouns on its website. It isn't annotated, but it's definitely long. Besides a fluther of jellyfish, the list includes a neverthriving of jugglers, a labour of moles, and a mutation of thrushes. Oh, and a page of Wikipedians. But I don't see one of my favorites, a murder of crows. And there's no collective noun for golfers! Have a suggestion? Post a comment below. I'll start you off: a lie of golfers.
Glad to be of inspiration (or of hats, if you will), Nancy. And, thanks for the link to the noun collective.
Posted by: Ari Herzog | July 25, 2008 at 09:20 AM
Oh, "murder of crows" has long been my fave collective noun. I can't believe it's not there.
Also: How about "a plaid of golfers"?
Posted by: Editrix | July 25, 2008 at 09:59 AM
@Editrix: A plaid of golfers! w00t!
Posted by: Nancy Friedman | July 25, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Etymologically speaking, some of the venereal terms are highly artificial ("an exaltation of larks") as distinct from organic ("a pack of hounds, a herd of cows"). This does not reduce their entertainment value.
On that note:
A compilation of programmers
A scribble of writers
A revision of editors
A strikeout of copy editors
A meeting of managers
A retreat of executives
Some are a bit of stretch (an expansion of stretches, perhaps), oh, well.
Posted by: mike | July 25, 2008 at 01:17 PM
@Mike: Well done, sir! "A strikeout of copy editors" is especially timely, given my other post of the day.
Posted by: Nancy Friedman | July 25, 2008 at 01:33 PM
the way I play I prefer a "rough of golfers"
Posted by: Michael | July 25, 2008 at 02:14 PM
I like galumph, we should work to keep alive anyway.
Posted by: daveblake | July 27, 2008 at 03:29 PM
I can't find "fluther" in any dictionary, including the OED.
Posted by: goofy | September 15, 2008 at 11:32 AM