Tag Archives for language
‘Firsthand’ is one word, journalist
How the Oxford Comma helps avoid wrong impressions
With Oxford Comma:
I’d like to thank my parents, Jesus, and Mary.
Without Oxford Comma:
I’d like to thank my parents, Jesus and Mary.
Backpfeifengesicht
German
Etymology
From Backpfeife + Gesicht.
Pronunciation
-
Audio (file)
Noun
Backpfeifengesicht n (genitive Backpfeifengesichts or Backpfeifengesichtes, plural Backpfeifengesichter)
- (colloquial) a face in need of a slap
A Partial List of Group Names for Birds
A bevy of quail
A bouquet of pheasants [when flushed]
A brood of hens
A building of rooks
A cast of hawks [or falcons]
A charm of finches
A colony of penguins
A company of parrots
A congregation of plovers
A cover of coots
A covey of partridges [or grouse or ptarmigans]
A deceit of lapwings
A descent of woodpeckers
A dissimulation of birds
A dole of doves
An exaltation of larks
A fall of woodcocks
A flight of swallows [or doves, goshawks, or cormorants]
A gaggle of geese [wild or domesticated]
A host of sparrows
A kettle of hawks [riding a thermal]
A murmuration of starlings
A murder of crows
A muster of storks
A nye of pheasants [on the ground]
An ostentation of peacocks
A paddling of ducks [on the water]
A parliament of owls
A party of jays
A peep of chickens
A pitying of turtledoves
A raft of ducks
A rafter of turkeys
A siege of herons
A skein of geese [in flight]
A sord of mallards
A spring of teal
A tidings of magpies
A trip of dotterel
An unkindness of ravens
A watch of nightingales
A wedge of swans [or geese, flying in a “V”]
A wisp of snipe
You’re welcomed
Wonderful words with no English equivalent
(Hat tip.)