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A Barrel of Monkeys: A Compendium of Collective Nouns for Animals
Samuel Fanous
€ 13.99
€ 11.88
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Description for A Barrel of Monkeys: A Compendium of Collective Nouns for Animals
Hardcover. Featuring pets, farmyard animals, big cats and wild beasts, this beautifully presented book is the perfect gift for animal lovers and all those with an interest in this quirky linguistic tradition. Illustrator(s): Bewick, Thomas. Num Pages: 144 pages, 126 black & white illustrations. BIC Classification: 2AB; CBX; CJBG. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 119 x 178 x 11. Weight in Grams: 172.
We're all familiar with `a flock of sheep' but what are the collective nouns for racehorses, pigs, zebras or giraffes? Drawing on a range of sources, from fifteenth-century hunting terms to more recent inventions that have now entered the language, this book collects over 100 examples of the most interesting collective nouns for animals, each illustrated with charming woodcuts by the renowned naturalist engraver of the eighteenth century, Thomas Bewick. Some describe a key characteristic of the animal in question: `a shrewdness of apes', `a busyness of ferrets'. Others are delightfully humorous: `a piddle ... Read more
We're all familiar with `a flock of sheep' but what are the collective nouns for racehorses, pigs, zebras or giraffes? Drawing on a range of sources, from fifteenth-century hunting terms to more recent inventions that have now entered the language, this book collects over 100 examples of the most interesting collective nouns for animals, each illustrated with charming woodcuts by the renowned naturalist engraver of the eighteenth century, Thomas Bewick. Some describe a key characteristic of the animal in question: `a shrewdness of apes', `a busyness of ferrets'. Others are delightfully humorous: `a piddle ... Read more
Product Details
Publisher
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2015
Condition
New
Weight
168g
Number of Pages
144
Place of Publication
Oxford, United Kingdom
ISBN
9781851244454
SKU
V9781851244454
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-50
About Samuel Fanous
Susie Dent is a writer and broadcaster on language. She is the resident lexicographer on Channel 4's long-running game show, 'Countdown'.
Reviews for A Barrel of Monkeys: A Compendium of Collective Nouns for Animals
Fanous marries a love of the English language with striking eighteenth-century engravings. . . . It's difficult to select favorites but how about 'a crash of rhinoceroses, ' 'a mischief of mice, ' and 'a piddle of puppies'? Each of about 125 collective nouns is paired with an illustration by Thomas Bewick, a famed naturalist engraver.
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