RHYMING AND ANIMAL NAMES

Since we did not have time during our last installment of Axioms, we will be having a truncated episode (are we on TV now?) today on the topics we were not able to discuss. Someone still feels bad that he spent so much time on thrice, but not really because it’s just so gosh darn interesting!

Anyway, before I decide to talk about the etymology of thrice and how it is used in pop culture, I will move onto a new topic. How about discussing names for groups of animals? For example a group of dogs would be a pack. But surely there are also zany, outlandish, fanciful names for groups of animals and the like, right? Do not worry, because there are! Here are a few of my favorites:

• A group of cats is a clowder (no, not cat chowder, it’s clowder)
• A group of rhinoceros’ is a crash (because they like to crash into things?)
• A group of ferrets is a business (it’s bid-niss time with the ferrets!)
• A group of crows is a murder (they can also be a flock, muster, or storytelling, but we prefer the darker version *cue creepy music*)
• A group of flamingos is a flamboyance (seems appropriate)
• A group of unicorns is a blessing (Wouldn’t it be a blessing if there was a group of unicorns? We at Axioms do not discriminate solely on the basis that an animal actually exists.)
• A group of gnats is a cloud (I can’t see though this cloud of gnats (or just through this cloud (because it’s redundant to say both in the same sentence (they mean the same thing (I did parentheses within parentheses! (that’s okay as long as you have as many parentheses at the end!)))))).
• In northern Canada, a group of rabbits is a fluffle. Otherwise they're known as a warren, colony, nest or herd. (Why oh why is fluffle not the name everywhere in the world??? Can we please change it everywhere?)
• A group of starlings is a murmuration (speak louder please, your murmuring)
• A group of lemurs is a conspiracy (I love lemurs, so I'm okay if they're part of a conspiracy)
• A group of owls is a parliament (they must have a lot of filibusters... I love filibusters)

Wow, some of those are pretty bizarre! Now, if I really wanted to embrace what Axioms truly stands for, I would research why we those specific animals are identified by those aforementioned names. Maybe I still will.

Now, we’re going to talk about words that rhyme with orange and silver. But wait, there are none!!! Can you believe it? I know, it’s crazy, huh? I’m sure you are now trying to think of anything that does rhyme with those words. You probably thought of bornge or milver, but those aren’t real words, silly! There are no non-made-up words in the English language that rhyme with orange or silver.

That is all the time we have right now. We covered some wacky and absurd grammatical rules and quirks in the English language, and that’s about it. Next time we will go over the popular soft drink, Dr Pepper. Yes, I purposely left out the period after Dr! You’ll see why next time. How did this popular soda begin? Who developed it and why? Was there a real Doctor Pepper? All these questions and more will be answered on number five of Axioms with Barry!