h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Grouses? Grice? Is someone who catches multiples of grouse a Grouser?

The plural of grouse is grouses or, like , simply grouse, but not grice. A grouse catcher *is* a grouser.

One wonders why you are asking us rather that using a dictionary. Not that I'm complaining (a grouser is also a complainer).

I've only ever seen one grouse. If I ever see a second one, I'll come back here and find out what to call them.

A brace of you have 2 of them.

We also use the word 'gripe' to mean 'grouse' (complain). This sense of the word derives from gripe meaning 'a gripping pain in the bowels' from around 1600.

Time to unearth an old favourite again:

[Zookeeper, writing a letter]

'Please sand two mongooses...no, that's not right....'

'Please send two mongeese...no, no, no...'

'Aha!
Please send a mongoose.
Sincerely,
T. Cooper.
PS Please send another one.'

RE: I think you'll find that sheep is the plural - the singular is shoop.
One shoop, two sheep.
You know it makes sense.

Seriously, though, things that are hunted take 'The Hunting Plural' by convention. And that, after all, is how language works - by convention rather than rules or logic.

Grouse->Grouse
Deer->Deer
Salmon->Salmon

Foxes are an obvious exception - maybe because they aren't eaten. Doubtless there are others.

Why do these differ from other plurals? Because those who hunt them are the ones who get to set the rules.

Surely 'shoop' is a noise made by a Motown backing singer?

Ed, but what about:-
pheasant - pheasants
rabbit - rabbits

Not sure that convention is all that conventional

MC

In NorthAm the `hunting plural` is reserved for hunters.
The use of the singular is a mark of the hunter but the
usage seldom enters the mainstream.

`We shot two bear, five moose, six mountain lion, ten
raccoon, fifteen pheasant and a bag full of beaver.`

But non-hunting lay-persons would put an S on every one.
Except mooses of courses.



-jwf-

"Surely 'shoop' is a noise made by a Motown backing singer?"
Tis a little known fact, these days, that sheep feature a lot in motown lyrics.

Not to mention a Beach Boys classic...

"`We shot two bear, five moose, six mountain lion, ten
raccoon, fifteen pheasant and a bag full of beaver.`

They're all game, of course - though perhaps not as keen as the hunters.

I even saw "one and a half brace of pheasant" in a 19th Century book, once. It was a humorous book, but I'm not sure whether that particular phrase was intended to be humorous.

You surprised me there, Gnomon.

"one and a half brace of pheasant" was / would be and I reckon still is, three of those birds.

Yes.

H,h. Hm

We had a family of red grouse who came to visit the garden last year, I even had a photo ( bit blurred ) of the mother sitting on the living room window sill. I think there must have been a nest in the undergrowth at the top of the garden where we've purposely let it get a bit 'wild' for the sake of the birds.

In other terms though, I have a couple of grouses with the neighbours cats, who stalked the little chicks. Eventually there were no grouse at all.