A Murder of Crows

[MillieDynamite]

There is a quaint term for a group or flock of crows. It's called, "A Murder of Crows." They have other names as well for the collection of the birds of doom. While the most popular term for a group of crows is a murder, but a group of crows can also be called a mob, horde, parcel, or muster. I've never used any of these in a story, but I think I might want to. Crows are also called Ravens, but they are the same birds. I had that straight from the Crows mouth. That and Nevermore were about all the old bird said.

What odd or old sayings have you used in your stories?

 

[SimonDoom]

There is a quaint term for a group or flock of crows. It's called, "A Murder of Crows." They have other names as well for the collection of the birds of doom. While the most popular term for a group of crows is a murder, but a group of crows can also be called a mob, horde, parcel, or muster. I've never used any of these in a story, but I think I might want to. Crows are also called Ravens, but they are the same birds. I had that straight from the Crows mouth. That and Nevermore were about all the old bird said.

What odd or old sayings have you used in your stories?

Crows aren't ravens. They're both corvids, part of the same bird family as jays and magpies, but they're not the same. Ravens are bigger, have a somewhat different call, and a different tail shape. Crows are far more common and have a far wider distribution.

There are a lot of cute names for groups of birds. Colony of penguins. Gulp of cormorants. Charm of finches. Exaltation of larks.

If you used these terms in a story, though, you might come across as being pretentious or precious.

I generally avoid terms of this sort in my stories. I use up-to-date American English.

 

[AchtungNight]

The term for a group of ravens is an unkindness, if anyone cares.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Okay, but I often write stories set in the past. And I'm not suggesting anyone use birdish things, just odd expressions that have found their way into stories. I've erstwhile for something happening just before the start of the just finished segment with one of the other characters than the MC. I've written stories set in the 30s and 40s with lingo in conversation from those decades. If I was being pretentious, I didn't realize it.

 

[MillieDynamite]

What we call crows in Oklahoma are about two feet tall. Not sure if that makes them a crow or a raven.

If what I just read about ravens is correct, those around my folks' place are ravens.

 

[Altissimus]

I use up-to-date American English.

I use English English, and part of its charm is that it has never really been up-to-date. I also use the occasional American spelling given my audience, which tears small holes in my soul every time. I partially justify this by using 'ass' over 'arse' because 'arse' just looks ridiculous.

In non-up-to-date English English, 'ass' means something else anyway. At some point I can see myself totally flipping out over all this and writing: "He was being an ass on his ass and fell on his ass." I doubt many people even know what that means, but woteva.

 

[MrPixel]

Gaggle of geese. Or a group of loud, chatty ladies.

 

[Rob_Royale]

What odd or old sayings have you used in your stories?

As a former Coast Guardsman, I'm fond of nautical terms and sayings. I've used 'Keep your eyes in the boat'. Which simply means, focus on what your doing.

 

[PrincessArianrhod]

If I was being pretentious, I didn't realize it.

Since when is using the correct word for anything considered pretentious? You're attaching no more importance to it than it deserves, so that doesn't even satisfy the conditions required to refer to it as pretentious in the first place.

Get your accusations right, people, for heaven's sake.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I got complaints from readers who didn't know what a conniption is.

 

[MillieDynamite]

We have Crackels around here, a particularly nasty and aggressive black bird. They have a loud cry that sounds like a cackel (and to me they sound like old angry ladies).

 

[MillieDynamite]

did they throw a conniption fit about it?

I got complaints from readers who didn't know what a conniption is.

 

[MelissaBaby]

We have Crackels around here, a particularly nasty and aggressive black bird. They have a loud cry that sounds like a cackel (and to me they sound like old angry ladies).

What you call Crackels, I think we call grackles.

 

[MelissaBaby]

did they throw a conniption fit about it?

They did, without even realizing it.

 

[PrincessArianrhod]

I got complaints from readers who didn't know what a conniption is.

Such a crapulous gadering. Be done with them.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I've published a few Westerns in the past. But I've never published them under this pen name. For the Westerns, I used the nom de plume M.D. Doc and the stories were a little far out there. But I used lots of Old West and Victorian terms in the characters' speech-a-fying.

I have since dumped the pen name and pulled all those stories. Thinking of reworking them and republishing them under my Millie Dynamite pen.

 

[NoTalentHack]

In my Crime and Punishment story, I breeze through several terms from internet culture (Chan boards, image macros, memes, mutual, swatting, etc.) without giving a ton of description to most of them. The audience in LW tends to skew older, I think, so I’m wondering how many complaints I’ll get.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

What you call Crackels, I think we call grackles.

Grackles is what they are called in the San Antonio area, I know that.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I want to use, "Love is good, but it’s good with bread. You can't live on love." Which in Yiddish is, "Di liebe is zees, nor zi iz gut mit broyt."

 

[MillieDynamite]

You know, maybe it is Grackles, and I just have always heard it as Crackels, which sounds like the noise they make.

Grackles is what they are called in the San Antonio area, I know that.

However, my spell checker doesn't know Grackles and wants to change it to Crackels. HUM

 

[MelissaBaby]

I've published a few Westerns in the past. But I've never published them under this pen name. For the Westerns, I used the nom de plume M.D. Doc and the stories were a little far out there. But I used lots of Old West and Victorian terms in the characters' speech-a-fying.

I have since dumped the pen name and pulled all those stories. Thinking of reworking them and republishing them under my Millie Dynamite pen.

I am writing a western for my crime and punishment story, and it's really fun to write in that idiom.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I am writing a western for my crime and punishment story, and it's really fun to write in that idiom.

I've read westerns. Oddly, my husband is a hugh western fan. I didn't know blacks could like them before I met him. He has made me watch all the Hopalong Cassidy movies and the TV show. Not the shit one made a few years back though. Sigh, I think he'd love to be a real cowboy.

 

[EmilyMiller]

There is a quaint term for a group or flock of crows. It's called, "A Murder of Crows." They have other names as well for the collection of the birds of doom. While the most popular term for a group of crows is a murder, but a group of crows can also be called a mob, horde, parcel, or muster. I've never used any of these in a story, but I think I might want to. Crows are also called Ravens, but they are the same birds. I had that straight from the Crows mouth. That and Nevermore were about all the old bird said.

What odd or old sayings have you used in your stories?

I love corvids, all of them.

Smart, fun-loving, mischievous, tender and loyal with their partners.

Em

 

[MediocreAuthor]

I use English English, and part of its charm is that it has never really been up-to-date. I also use the occasional American spelling given my audience, which tears small holes in my soul every time. I partially justify this by using 'ass' over 'arse' because 'arse' just looks ridiculous.

Thank you so much. I think English accents are kinda sexy, ngl... but certain British expressions totally lose me.

I was reading a pretty steamy story from some English author when he wrote something like "She slowly pulled her silky knickers down over the curve of her arse."

I had to stop reading there for a while, because I was laughing so hard. It just caught me off guard.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

I love corvids, all of them.

Smart, fun-loving, mischievous, tender and loyal with their partners.

Em

I bet you hate ducks, dontcha?