A number of years ago I came upon James Lipton's book, An Exaltation of Larks — a compilation of “nouns of assemblage” like a murder of crows, an ostentation of peacocks, an unkindness of ravens — and it inspired me to come up with my own list. I recently uncovered it in my files and decided to share it here.
a scribble of writers
a storm of sneezes
a ladder of braids
a smudge of bifocals
an unraveling of sweaters
a squiggle of infants
a mischief of monkeys
a stat of numbers
a loosening of buttons
a snaggle of zippers
a dizziness of quilts
a frustration of dictionaries
a tease of masks
an insult of cell phones
a confusion of schedules
a tardiness of clocks
a mirage of dollars
a chaos of bills
a meanness of gossips
a dryness of crackers
a sturdiness of shoes
a flicker of shadows
a drift of dreams
a stutter of doubts
a flowering of bonnets
an order of plaids
a breathing of African violets
an inhalation of spices
a comfort of teas
a grit of sands
a tickle of feathers
a knot of noodles
a sliver of splinters
a comfort of snores
a collapse of bridges
a disappointment of locked doors
an embarking of train stations
a lightness of wallets
a deficit of compliments
a twitch of whiskers
a robbery of taxes
a bouquet of kisses
an avalanche of e-mails
a scrabble of vowels
a temptation of transgressions
a snivel of pities
a drizzle of sadness
a dismay of dentists
an indignity of betrayals
a brevity of snapshots
a breath of haiku
an indulgence of complaints
a satisfaction of soups
a taunt of Aprils
an embarrassment of typos
a blizzard of second thoughts
an illusion of failures
a promise of vitamins
a persistence of memories
a tearing of onions
a snuggle of kittens
a surprise of mornings
an appearance of mirrors
an awakening of bells
a relief of naps
a potential of buds
a burden of laundry
a gauze of clouds
a shame of dust balls
a luck of bamboo
a vagary of forgetfulness
a dylan of harmonicas
a pillow of laps
a justification of excuses
a clutch of pocketbooks
a skip of crocuses
a squirm of itches
an erasure of unworthiness
a blunting of pencils
a dreariness of regrets
an invitation of tambourines
a pucker of crab apples
a plodding of footsteps
an approximation of absolutes
a refreshment of mints
a humbling of apologies
an attentiveness of ears
a euphoria of euphoniums
an opportunity of Saturdays
a contradiction of proofs
