A volume of sand
I want to describe a "volume(for lack of a better word)" of sand which was flung at someone. If it is thrown by hand, then it becomes a "handful of sand" but what if I use something else ? and the quantity is not a handful but more ?
e.g. The camel dug his limbs into the sand and that inadvertent motion flung a ______ of sand towards them.
It need not necessarily be a single word, but I could not find any other matching tag.
Solution 1:
As suggested by John Lawler:
shower
- A fall of a group of objects, especially from the sky: a meteor shower; a shower of leaves. (thefreedictionary.com)
Your example:
The camel dug his hooves into the sand and inadvertently flung a shower of sand in our direction.
Alternatively:
As the camels galloped past, their hooves kicked up [or sprayed] a shower of sand and we had to shield our eyes.
Fun, short video of racing camels (you can see the little sprays of sand kicked up by each hoof): https://youtu.be/QogcOenbjM0
They have remote controlled mechanical jockeys!
Solution 2:
a quantity of sand, meaning any quantity of sand
a flurry of sand, meaning a small swirling mass of sand
a swirl of sand, meaning a quantity of sand moving in a swirling motion
a spray of sand, meaning a moving mass of particles of sand
Solution 3:
Without being concerned with its physical consistency, you could use a word like blast. Blast, as a noun, is often used to mean a sudden violent gust of air but could also mean any sudden expulsion or eruption of something. This can include a loud sound, a whistle, or a projectile ("The assault was over with a final blast of fire from the torch.")
The camel dug his limbs into the sand and that inadvertent motion flung a blast of sand towards them.