Circus of Puffins

When I was in Alaska recently, I got to see puffins in the wild, and that was thrilling.

You know, they have these comical little faces, kind of white faces and multicolored beaks, and they look really funny when they try to fly.

They just, their wings go so fast.

Do they fly?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

They’re out there in the water, and then they try to fly, and it’s just kind of hilarious to watch them.

But I was on this boat, and the captain said, yeah, over there.

And then she used the collective noun for puffins, which I didn’t know.

What is that?

A circus.

A circus of puffins.

Of course, yes.

And I said, come on, that’s not really the collective noun.

And she said, oh, yeah, we use it all the time, a circus of puffins.

That’s nice.

And as soon as you know that and you see these goofy-looking birds, it’s perfect.

So many of those collective nouns are only used to discuss collective nouns, so it’s nice to hear them in the wild from an expert.

Yes.

Or at least somebody who should know.

From Rika the Boat Captain.

Thanks, Rika, for that.

We’d love to hear your language encounters in the wild or elsewhere.

Give us a call, 877-929-9673.