Is there a collective noun for Barbie dolls?

[Garzo]

Considering this news item about 4,000 Barbie dolls up for auction, is there a collective noun for Barbie dolls?

— Garzo can dress himself, thank you.

[Perry]

I would just guess that the collective term is Barbies.

I do know that in Hebrew it would be ברביות. (Barbiot)

[Stargzer]

Yeah, I'd go with Barbies, too, as a collective for all things Barbie.

If not for your link I'd never have known Barbie's middle name or last name.

[Palewriter]

Yeah, I'd go with Barbies, too, as a collective for all things Barbie.

Traditionally, the collective noun would probably be "bevvy", though considering the nature of the artefact, "doll-op" might be more appropriate.

If dollop doesn't quite express the horror of a room containing 4,000 Barbies, then I might the following, in context.

"Man attacked by hoard of Barbies."
"He invested his savings in a speculation of Barbies."
"The shop window was filled with a mattelethon of Barbies."

The whole phenomenon is certainly way beyond my ken.

-- PW

[Bailey]

But, Hey PW, that little doll has cars, boats a home in Malibu, an impossible body shape, and as you mentioned that metrosexual yuppie Ken. What more could she want... hmmmmm?
"a mattelathon"?
My car has a made-by-mattel body.

mark grandkids-bring-a-whole-nuther-education Bailey

[Perry]

There is the (possibly sexist, but still funny) joke about a parent that goes to buy a Barbie for her little girl. She asks the salesperson the price of various Barbies.

The beach Barbie is $16.99. The college Barbie is $16.99. the prom Barbie is $26.65. The divorce Barbie is $150.

What?! exclaims the mother. The other Barbies are $16.99, and one is $26.65. Why is the divorce Barbie $150?

The divorce Barbie comes with Ken's car, Ken's house, and Ken's boat.

[Palewriter]

There is the (possibly sexist, but still funny) joke about a parent that goes to buy a Barbie for her little girl. She asks the salesperson the price of various Barbies.

The beach Barbie is $16.99. The college Barbie is $16.99. the prom Barbie is $26.65. The divorce Barbie is $150.

What?! exclaims the mother. The other Barbies are $16.99, and one is $26.65. Why is the divorce Barbie $150?

The divorce Barbie comes with Ken's car, Ken's house, and Ken's boat.

That's funny. Reminds me of the idea a friend of mine once had of producing "GI Joe the Deserter"....just an empty box.


-- PW

[Palewriter]

Just an oddity:

When I pulled up my "posts since last...." screen, I was confronted with the first three posts:

Is there a collective noun for Barbie dolls hurrying into the copse post haste?



-- PW

[skinem]

In our house, finding the pile of Barbies and their tiny shoes, purses and various parts with my bare feet on the stairs in the dark at 2 a.m. they are called "That blankety-blank blank blank pile of blank blank!"

Actually, I believe when they are together they are called a "Sparkle" of Barbie.
There are various other names--a clutch of Barbie.
A gaggle of Barbie.
A golddigger of Barbie.
A cougar of Barbie.
An acquisition of Barbie.
A vacuousness of Barbie.
The only other one I've heard is "A girl's unrealistic goal."

[gailr]

A doll-op of Barbies is very clever, but I think it would better describe a very small, controlled collection...

A former flame and I discovered the community museum on one little vacation was showcasing the lifetime Barbie(TM) accumulation of a local lady. It was housed in stackable, glass-fronted, wooden display cases lovingly created by her husband. Three(!) rooms completely lined, floor-to-ceiling, with Barbiephernalia.

Admission was $3.00.
Each.

In other Barbie musings: I was a youth mentor in WI. I sized up one 8-year-old at our initial meeting and asked whether she liked Barbies. She replied that she had a Barbie head collection. gailr smiled...

-gailr

[Palewriter]

In other Barbie musings: I was a youth mentor in WI. I sized up one 8-year-old at our initial meeting and asked whether she liked Barbies. She replied that she had a Barbie head collection. gailr smiled...

-gailr

I wonder if she ever moved to Texas?

Back in the early 70s, when my peers and I were fussing about "how to raise kids" and such silly stuff, I knew a 'liberated' couple that dedided to break the sexist tradition and buy their daughter a toy pistol and their son a Barbie. To their chagrin, after a short while, the girl ended up wheeling the pistol around in a pram; the boy had Barbie tied up with string because "she was playing hostage."

Can't mess with stuff like that.

--PW

[gailr]

I wonder if she ever moved to Texas?

Not yet. She's still being higherly-educated in WI. But I'll let her know that Tejas is an option for the future.

Great story on the gender-relevance of toys! I've heard similar anecdotes from other "let's not pigeonhole the children" parents, which contradict the frightened stories of those who tried--and failed--to maintain a strict "gender-appropriate" selection. Maybe it works best if the kids make their own choices and the adults don't read too much into them...

Here's something I've wondered about: all of the US boys I have ever come into contact with seem born with the reflex to aim their forefingers and shout, "Bang! Bang!" It's my understanding that this phenomenon has crossed political borders, perhaps in a sort of "hundredth monkey" effect...

Girls seem to have fashioned some sort of doll since girls were invented, but what was the "instinctive" sound + gesture weapon for boys in a world before firearms?

-gailr

[Palewriter]

Girls seem to have fashioned some sort of doll since girls were invented, but what was the "instinctive" sound + gesture weapon for boys in a world before firearms?

[pointed finger] twang twang?



-- PW

[Bailey]

the girl ended up wheeling the pistol around in a pram; the boy had Barbie tied up with string because "she was playing hostage."

--PW

sounds like the kids were smarter than the parents in this case.

Barbies are a tradition, but my sister never had one, and she turned out pretty squared with the world. I think baby dolls were the rage then.

mark liked-sticks-to-play-with-because-guns-weren't-happenin'-at-my-house Bailey

[Sunny]

I liked Barbies, and had quite a few and would spend hours playing with them, downstairs in the basement. My brothers were provided with the traditional dinky toy cars, and guns of all types and got to play outside in the dirt and make loud noises and come in for supper with a layer of filth that never seemed to wash off.

There was nothing more I wanted to do than play with the guns and the cars outside. I could imagine trenching roadways in the dirt and gravel and adding water to cement up the walls.

Fortunately, my son is all boy and I got to have my chance at playing in the dirt and shooting toy guns. He is older now, and we have moved to the shooting range with real guns, and almost ready to start learning to drive real cars. I say a little prayer for allowing me to have the childhood I wanted, the second time around.

On a side note, my daughter never did like the Barbies, although I felt strangely obligated to buy her dozens. Her passion is reading and music, so I eventually gave up on the Barbie stereotype and just bought her stacks and stacks of books.