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From: larry@harvard.ARPA (Larry Denenberg)
Newsgroups: net.jokes
Subject: Re: Sloppy Prose
Message-ID: <36@harvard.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 13-Apr-85 14:09:48 EST
Article-I.D.: harvard.36
Posted: Sat Apr 13 14:09:48 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 18-Apr-85 02:08:04 EST
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Organization: Aiken Computation Laboratory, Harvard
Lines: 40

>What is the collective noun for whores?
>As 'pride' is to lions, as 'gaggle' is to geese (for highschool dropouts)
>So 'anthology' is to whores.
>as in 
>      Anthology of English Pro's
>		(Nigel Gale)

>A delightful book of collectives is _An Exaltation of Angels_ (or Larks -
>I've forgotten which, and have forgotten the author and publisher).
>The book's coolective for pro's:
>	A flourish of strumpets.
>Henry Polard


(It's "larks";  angels come in choirs.)

In the entry for May 18 of _An_Almanac_of_Words_at_Play_, Willard Espy
gives various venereal* terms for the pretty ladies, all from the
point of view of the beholder:

   Orchestra conductor:  A flourish of strumpets.
   Butcher:  A pride of loins.
   Campanilist:  A peal of Jezebels.
   Domestic arts teacher:  A jam of tarts.
   Dietician:  An expanse of broads.
   Jeweler:  A ring of jades.
   Dancer:  A wiggle of wenches.
   Chemist:  A beaker of stenches.
   Railway Express driver:  A cargo of baggages.
   English teacher:  An essay of trollops, an anthology of pros.

[*]  Particularly apt here, but "venereal term" in the sense of 
"collective noun" comes from the connection between these terms
and hunting.

Larry Denenberg
larry@harvard

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
 Indian Giver be the name of the Lord."