The traditional collective noun for a group of typists is a “pool”, but this just doesn’t seem as creative or entertaining as many collective nouns can potentially be. As a typewriter collector it would be more fun to have a clever collective noun for a group of typists at a type-in. Similarly it would be nice to have a name for a collection of typewriters themselves.
So toward this end I thought I’d brainstorm for a moment to make a few lists of potential ideas for both. If you’ve got ideas, please add them to the comments. There’s no need to try to come up with an “official” collective noun as use in daily life, writing, and throughout the typosphere will ultimately determine a winner through actual usage. Some words are double-listed as they could refer to either.
What do you call your collection?
Potential Collective Nouns for Typewriters
- Radiance
- Tabulation
- Segment (no one’s every done collecting, are they?)
- Sheaf
- Clatter
- Flourish
- Sounder
- Chatter
- Ream
- Basket
- Font
- Aureole (for the Smith-Corona enthusiasts)
- Roost (especially when stored and displayed on shelves)
- Parenthesis
- Return
Potential Collective Nouns for Typists
- Pool (traditional)
- Claque
- Vibration
- Riot
- Mayhem
- Commotion
- Symphony
- Exclamation
- Shift
- Chattering
- Touch
- Drumming
- Sonority
- Tumult
- Thriving
- Applause
- Manual
- Carriage
- Clatter
What could we be? Are we a vibration of typists? Maybe we’re a thriving of typists? A Touch of Typewriter Collectors? Please add your ideas to the list below…
@chrisaldrich For typewriters: a pile. 😉
For typists, a pool (as in ‘typing pool’) (a term that actually existed).
@chrisaldrich Thank you for the suggestions! I personally select these collective nouns for future use: a ‘tabulation’ of #typewriters, a ‘clatter’ of typists/typers.
typewriters
I use “Corral” when referring to my typewriters as a collective.
Thanks! This makes me think I ought to add a “Chorale of Typists” to the list as a corresponding collective noun.
I’m hoping this 8’x10′ non-slip rug pad can be cut down into enough typewriter pads to accommodate the segment of typewriters in my collection. They’ll both help protect my wooden tables from scratches as well as to keep my typewriters from “travelling” during use.
