What is the origin or meaning of the title? :dubious:
Internet search on:
“Fifty shades of grey” +meaning
*Think of “black” and bad, and “white” as good.
So depending on how much “black” you mix with “white”, you will get “different shades of grey” = different mixtures of good and bad.
*
- and -
This is a phrase that is used when there is no definite standard, boundary, or answer.
There is a common phrase in English:
"There is no black or white answer.”
Black and White can represent Yes and No, Right and Wrong, Left and Right, or any two opposing sides to a conflict or answer.
When something is said to be grey/gray, it means that the distinction between two or more things is hard to understand; as if the definite “black and white” have became merged and blurred to create a “grey.”
I haven’t read the book, but the first thing that springs to mind for me in the hanky code, in which grey = bondage.
I presume the OP is also asking about the number. I don’t know the answer, but Forty Shades of Green is an old Irish (?) song. Forty/40 Shades of Blue is also a song by Black 47 and a movie with Rip Torn. The former is almost certainly taken from the song, I don’t know about the film. Maybe the book is inspired, but not sure.
I assume it has something to do with bondage, but really, that book is porn. I picked up a copy at B&N, flipped to a random page, and nearly shrieked, “NIPPLE CLAMPS??” out loud.
You may be better off not knowing.
According to Yahoo Answers (yes, paragon of great answers), it refers to how the character Mr. Grey is kind of screwed up (“50 shades of f’d up” said this sage of Yahoo). He’s a sadist. I guess it might refer to how everything he does is a little bad, but not necessarily pure evil (i.e. good intentions or something).
Also, I learned from Wikipedia while researching that it’s based off of a Twilight fanfiction. That explains… something about its popularity, or the nature of its plot or… something. I think. Maybe.
The ingenious thing about the title is that when I first heard it I thought it was overanalyzed classic English class fare like Pride & Prejudice or The Picture of Dorian Gray. If somebody just heard the title when you told them what you were reading and had no context they’d think you were sophisticated (or pretentious) as hell. Then I looked up the synopsis.
Yeah… not so much.
Or “50 Shades of Purple… Prose”
Twilight: Wow sparkly vampires are somehow way cooler than some passive woman meeting Patrick Bateman-lite.
Christian Grey tells Anastasia that he is “50 shades of fucked up”. Therefore, Fifty Shades of Grey
Bad porn, at that.
Hell, it started off as Twilight fan-fiction.
My wife bought the book. I opened it to a random page, and was treated to a passage of the main male character “erotically” yanking out the tampon of the female protagonist.
Clearly, thought I, this is not the book for me.
Damn. I thought the title was referencing sexy such as the eye color grey.
You know, I’m no prude, and I have no problem with this book.
I just think it’s inappropriate to have stacks and stacks on display for sale at the grocery store.
My mum (she’s 67) bought the whole series. ‘It’s really a love story.’ she says - ‘A romance.’
Because nothing says romance like a fist up the ass.
You must admit, whatever the sentiment you’re trying to convey, save for a few very specific ones, a fist up the ass is probaly a unique way of doing so.
Yeah, that too.
Thank you. I needed a laugh.
There is a series? I thought it was just the one book.
I know somebody who is taking off work to go buy more books… 