What Does “A Drift of Hogs” Mean?
“Drift” describes hogs moving slowly and gradually at their own pace, foraging as they go rather than being actively driven toward a specific destination, the same gentle, self-directed sense of movement covered under “drift of cattle” and “drift of sheep” elsewhere on this site. Hogs are natural foragers, and left to their own devices, they’ll work an area steadily, rooting through soil and vegetation for roots, insects, and anything else edible, gradually shifting location as resources in one spot are exhausted.
This kind of unhurried, foraging-driven movement is especially visible in free-range and pasture-based hog operations, where pigs are allowed to roam and forage more naturally rather than being confined, drifting across a paddock at their own pace much as they would in the wild. “Drift” captures that self-directed, exploratory quality well, distinct from the more purposeful movement implied by “drove.”
Example: “A drift of hogs worked its way across the pasture, rooting steadily through the turf as it went.”
Other Collective Nouns for Hogs
A group of hogs goes by more than one name. You might also hear:
Related: Collective Nouns for Mammals