A new collective noun: "astonishment"

Sun Dec 20 14:11:03 UTC 2009

Brace yourselves, well-read among ye.

Google Books turns up precisely *one* example of "astonishment of
riches" (from 2004).

NewspaperArchive?  Nada.

Chicago Tribune?  Zip.

N.Y. Times?  One (2002).

Washington Post?  Zero.

L.A. Times?  You're kidding me, right?

New Yorker?  Puh-leeze!

What is this, some kind of nightmare before Christmas?  An "astonishment of
riches" is a cliche', a cliche' I tells ya!

Needless to say, the phrase does not appear in OED.

About 7,400 RGs, many of them referring to the 2002 N.Y. Times story.
Surely that was not the point of origin.  Was it????

JL

On Sat, Dec 19, 2009 at 2:33 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: A new collective noun: "astonishment"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 9:19 AM -0500 12/19/09, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >Evidently a "bale of turtles" originally referred not to the shelled but
> to
> >the feathered variety.
> >
> >The earlier term was "dule," and "bale," I suggest, may have come from a
> >misreading or misrecollection of this.  Unlikely, perhaps, but stranger
> >things have happened at sea.
> >
> >More recent "terms of art," used by no one but list makers and word-lovers
> >(if they)  include "an audit of bookeepers,"   "a balance of accountants,"
> >"a geek of engineers,"  "a woop of gorillas."  Feel free to use them,
> >however.
>
> An isogloss of dialectologists?
> A lemma of lexicographers?  [I like that one]
> A tree of syntacticians?
>
> LH
>
> >
> >Most such terms are jokes rather than fully functioning elements of
> English.
> >
> >Also, some of the words on such lists, while real, are not catually simple
> >collectives as claimed, like "group" or "bunch," but a group in
> >some particular set of circumstances. E.g., "a bed of clams," "a field of
> >racehorses,"  "a ring of keys."  My guess is that "an exaltation of larks"
> >meant not just "a flock"  ("Ooooh! Would you look at that exaltation of
> >larks!")  but the sound of many chirping at once ("I heard an exaltation
> of
> >larks this a.m.").
> >
> >FWIW.
> >
> >JL
> >
> >
> >
> >On Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 11:17 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
> >>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>  -----------------------
> >>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>  Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> >>  Subject:      Re: A new collective noun: "astonishment"
> >>
> >>
>
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >>  I don't see the point of beating me over the head with *other*
> >>  collective nouns, real or pseudo-, such as "pride of lions", "murder
> >>  of crows", etc.  My astonishment was seeing one that was new to
> >>  me.  But thanks to Jon, I am now educated that it is not completely
> >>  original to Dargis.  Although I bet it has not been applied to
> >>  Pandorans before.
> >>
> >>  Joel
> >>
> >>  At 12/18/2009 07:42 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >>  >Google immediately shows "an astonishment of valentines" and "an
> >>  >astonishment of poets."
> >>  >
> >>  >GB has "She scorched him, too, with an astonishment of fires" from
> 1990.
> >>  >
> >>  >I'm pretty sure I read it before then, but solely as a literary
> metaphor.
> >>  >
> >>  >(Cf., of course, "an astonishment of riches").
> >>  >
> >>  >JL
> >>  >
> >>  >
> >>  >On Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 5:00 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net>
> wrote:
> >>  >
> >>  > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>  > > -----------------------
> >>  > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>  > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> >>  > > Subject:      A new collective noun: "astonishment"
> >>  > >
> >>  > >
> >>  >
> >>
>
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>  > >
> >>  > >  From the New York Times review of James Cameron's "Avatar", Dec.
> 18,
> >>  > > by Manola Dargis:
> >>  > >
> >>  > > "The exotic creatures in 'Avatar,' which include an astonishment of
> >>  > > undulating, flying, twitching and galloping organisms,** don't just
> >>  > > crawl through the underbrush; they thunder and shriek, yip and
> hiss,
> >>  > > pointy teeth gleaming.
> >>  > >
> >>  > > An astonishment of Pandorans.*
> >>  > >     An "astonishment" can include more than just Na'vi, since
> >>  > > Dargis's next sentence is "The most important of these are the
> Na'vi
> >>  > > ...".***
> >>  > >
> >>  > > * There seems to be a battle between "Pandorans" and "Pandorians",
> at
> >>  > > present about 3:1 for "Pandorans".  I can't get far enough into the
> >>  > > "Official Web Site" (avatarmovie.com) to pass the movie bits and
> >>  > > reach text to confirm official usage.
> >>  > >
> >>  > > ** I'm somehow reminded of the recent NYTimes review of
> Humperdinck's
> >>  > > "Hansel and Gretel" at the Met -- describing it as a opera for
> >>  > > children about "hunger, kidnapping, cannibalism and witch burning."
> >>  > >
> >>  > > *** I note the classical plural, gender-free (a la "alumni" in
> >  > > > popular usage).  But the singular seems to be Na'vi also, at least
> in
> >>  > > Dargis's review (Jake operates a "10-foot, blue-skinned Na'vi
> body.")
> >>  > >
> >>  > >      But how does Dargis get away without musing on the analogy
> with
> >>  > > Pandora's box?  Or would that be a spoiler?  I haven't seen the
> film,
> >>  > > of course; but Dargis writes "Although 'Avatar' delivers a late
> kick
> >>  > > to the gut that might be seen as nihilistic (and how!), it is
> >>  > > strangely utopian."  Pandora's box is (its mines are?) opened, and
> >>  > > evils are let out into its world?
> >>  > >
> >>  > > Joel
> >>  > >
> >>  > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> >>  > >
> >>  >
> >>  >
> >>  >
> >>  >--
> >>  >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> >>  truth."
> >>  >
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> >
> >
> >--
> >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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