When is a group not a group? When that group is a grove.

Or a grist.

Or a gatling, a gam, even a gaggle.

The word 'group' is a collective noun, which is a fancy way of saying it's a singular word that describes a collection of people, animals, or objects.

In the sentences above we mentioned a few. A grove is a group of trees; a grist, a gathering of bees; a gatling, a collection of woodpeckers; a gam, a group of whales; and a gaggle, a crowd of geese on the water.

Grapes, by the way, are typically described in bunches, not groups.

How many of these other collective nouns can you correctly identify?

1) A ___________ of ants

county

colony

city

picnic

 

2) A ___________ of tests

battery

curve

flunking

toast

 

3) A ___________ of candidates

booth

debate

candygram

slate

 

4) A ___________ of leopards

spot

posse

leap

leotard

 

5) A ___________ of witches

brew

spell

coven

broomstick

 

6) A ___________ of raccoons

vacuum

mask

tunnel

navel

 

7) A ___________ of submarines

wolf pack

school

swirl

gravy boat

 

8) A ___________ of bananas

peel

yardstick

pratfall

hand

 

9) An ___________ of riches

equator

embarrassment

elevator

equinox

 

10) A ___________ of baboons

boondock

cheetah

rumpus

knuckle

An armada of answers can be found here.