Nouns of Assemblage

I received this from a friend who is also a wonderful writing teacher, Irene Zahava. Could we call it, a list of bullet points?

After reading An Exhaltation of Larks, by James Lipton, in which he compiles an extraordinary list of "nouns of assemblage," or, as he calls them, "venereal terms," as in "the hunt" - a murder of crows, an ostentation of peacocks, a peep of chickens, an unkindness of ravens, a bouquet of pheasants - I came up with the following :

a scribble of writers
a storm of sneezes
a ladder of braids
a smudge of bifocals
an unraveling of sweaters
a squiggle of infants
a mischief of monkeys
a stat of numbers
a loosening of buttons
a snaggle of zippers
a dizziness of quilts
a frustration of dictionaries
a tease of masks
an insult of cell phones
a confusion of schedules
a tardiness of clocks
a mirage of dollars
a chaos of bills
a meanness of gossips
a dryness of crackers
a sturdiness of shoes
a flicker of shadows
a drift of dreams
a stutter of doubts
a flowering of bonnets
an order of plaids
a breathing of African violets
an inhalation of spices
a comfort of teas
a grit of sands
a tickle of feathers
a knot of noodles
a sliver of splinters
a comfort of snores
a collapse of bridges
a disappointment of locked doors
an embarking of train stations
a lightness of wallets
a deficit of compliments
a twitch of whiskers
a robbery of taxes
a bouquet of kisses
an avalanche of e-mails
a scrabble of vowels
a temptation of transgressions
a snivel of pities
a drizzle of sadness
a dismay of dentists
an indignity of betrayals
a brevity of snapshots
a breath of haiku
an indulgence of complaints
a satisfaction of soups
a taunt of Aprils
an embarrassment of typos
a blizzard of second thoughts
an illusion of failures
a deception of tofus
a promise of vitamins
a persistence of memories
a tearing of onions
a snuggle of kittens
a surprise of mornings
an appearance of mirrors
an awakening of bells
a relief of naps
a potential of buds
a burden of laundry
a gauze of clouds
a shame of dust balls
a luck of bamboo
a vagary of forgetfulness
a dylan of harmonicas
a pillow of laps
a justification of excuses
a clutch of pocketbooks
a skip of crocuses
a squirm of itches
an erasure of unworthiness
a blunting of pencils
a dreariness of regrets
an invitation of tambourines
a pucker of crab apples
a plodding of footsteps
an approximation of absolutes
a refreshment of mints
a humbling of apologies
an attentiveness of ears
a euphoria of euphoniums
an opportunity of Saturdays
a frivolity of sermons
a contradiction of proofs
a guess of jelly beans
a shyness of toes
a surprise of merry pranksters
a discomfort of parties
an excess of lists
a yawn of cats
an Everest of worries
a spite of grievances
a withholding of judgments
an oblivion of yesterdays
an indiscretion of parrots
a party of balloons
an abandonment of rules
a muffling of scarves
a formality of bow-ties
a parlor of tea pots
an abundance of apologies
a familiarity of sneakers
a return of pennies
a snickering of moustaches
a hopelessness of goldfish
a subjectivity of beauties
a farce of clowns
a practicality of jeans
a panic of tests
a nagging of grievances
a disappearance of mittens
a mending of socks
a delicacy of negotiations
an innuendo of malice
a celebration of bellies
a necessity of books
a whisper of snowflakes
a reach of starfish
an ecstasy of massages
an irritation of pearls
a derailment of plans
a regret of bad news
a letdown of expectations
a stretch of kites
a wave of goodbyes
a restlessness of crowds
a derangement of hormones
a consumption of jealousies
a tension of headaches
an avoidance of gurus
an expansion of hearts
a blessing of friends

Irene Zahava - February 10, 2006