Here’s a companion piece to the Eliza Doolittle post I wrote yesterday.

“The grey squirrel of grammar” is the pairing of “there is” with a plural subject, e.g. “there’s five plates on the table.” Like the North American squirrels that now make Britain home, it’s here to stay, says Michael McCarthy, writing in The Guardian. But he’s okay with that. He sees it as an example of acceptable bad grammar — it’s not worth getting fussed about since we all understand what is being said.

He’s a bit tougher, however, when it comes to written language or constructions where bungled grammar interferes with clarity . . .