M for Murder

The other day I was editing a story about crows and ravens. I was under the impression that a group of crows was called a murder. No doubt a ‘murder of crows’ is indeed a spirited phrase. But is it accurate? The good folks at Random House say that these fanciful collective nouns are indeed accurate but vanishing rapidly.

There are the collective nouns that are familiar to everyone: flight of stairs, swarm of bees, flock of sheep and school of fish. Then there is another group. See if you can fit these in to your everyday conversation.

exaltation of larks
unkindness of ravens
shrewdness of apes
piteousness of doves