I’ve always been fascinated by the names given to different groups of creatures.
It may seem dull if you’re only familiar with phrases like a “pack of dogs” or a “flock of sheep,” but those are the easy ones.
A “pride of lions” gets more interesting, as does a “school of fish,” but even this is just getting warmed up.
Know what you call a group of giraffes? A “tower of giraffes”. It’s strange but perfect. A group of hippopotamuses (hippopotami?) is called a “crash”. A group of crows is a “murder of crows.” Jellyfish? A “smack.”
It’s this odd little corner of our language where there appears to be only convention and no real rules. It’s full of alliteration, whimsy, and weirdness. Just my sort of thing.
But it gets me wondering, every so often, what you call a group of something where I’ve never heard the term before. In this case, what do you call a group of Hipsters?
I asked on Twitter a while back and sadly neglected to write down all the fantastic ideas I received. A few of the contenders that I recall are:
- An Irony of Hipsters
- A Handlebar of Hipsters
- A Stache of Hipsters
- A Cappuccino of Hipsters
- A Justifiable Homicide of Hipsters (see: Murder of Crows)
Why hipsters? Why not. It could be beneficial for places like coffee shops to help set up designated areas and such. And if you have a better idea, by all means let me know!
UPDATE: Had some great suggestions on Facebook including a “Cassette of Hipsters”, but my reigning favorite via Victor Moreno is “A TED of Hipsters”.