A variety follows, no?

That's what I thought at first, but O'Connor's argument is that the subject is plural, as in "A couple/number of deadbeats live next door."

How vote you Buffistas?

Do either of these options involve you bringing me lunch?

I am consumed with envy ... having consumed a green salad and sugar-free Jello (orange). sigh.

David! I saw a t-shirt that made me think of you - it said "WWTWD" and, below, with an appropriate illustration, "What Would Tom Waits Do?"

Do either of these options involve you bringing me lunch?

They're both within walking distance of you. In fact I've seen several new Birley sandwich places downtown. Their sandwhichs are spectacularly tasty, so hunt it down.

David! I saw a t-shirt that made me think of you - it said "WWTWD" and, below, with an appropriate illustration, "What Would Tom Waits Do?"

The right answer is sort of like:

How many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb? Fish!

What would Tom Waits Do? Stick a fish down his pants!

or, if he were recording... Play the bass marimba at the bottom of an empty swimming pool!

That's what I thought at first, but O'Connor's argument is that the subject is plural, as in "A couple/number of deadbeats live next door."

If variety is plural, why does the word "varieties" exist?

Or is the argument that it's sort of a collective noun?

That's what I thought at first, but O'Connor's argument is that the subject is plural, as in "A couple/number of deadbeats live next door."

Hmm. What would Strunk & White do?

Lunch plans: either the Cuban sandwich at Birley or the jambalaya at Briazz.

I think the jambalaya would make you sleepier in the afternoon than the Cuban, but I could be talking out of my ass.

I think the Cuban, but that is because I love cubans.

I think the jambalaya would make you sleepier in the afternoon than the Cuban, but I could be talking out of my ass.

I think the Cuban is a little heavier since it's pork and the jambalay is chicken and sausage. Neither really makes me droopy though.

I think the Cuban, but that is because I love cubans.

Come visit me, I'll buy you one! These are the best I've ever had (and I grew up in Miami with lots of Cuban sandwich opportunities). The pork is just so well cooked. Way better than you'd expect for a sandwich.

Or is the argument that it's sort of a collective noun?

I think so (i.e., that it is the number of activities that is important, not the variety).

The ambiguity is over whether you mean "A _____ of ____" in the collective sense or not. A bunch of people gets the plural, but a herd of cattle gets the singular. Because it's ambiguous, I would rephrase the whole sentence.

Matilda's goose egg looks quite horrid.

When my brother (named Nate) was a toddler, he was nicknamed Natty Bumpo (i.e. Leatherstocking from the Leatherstocking Tales) because he always had a goose egg in the middle of his forehead. This culminated, by adulthood, with three different sets of stitches in his head, and no stitches anywhere in the rest of his body.

At 29, he is surprisingly still alive.