# Color names: is "x-ish y" mostly x, or mostly y? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535 "2013-11-22T16:20:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![H3Knuckles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@H3Knuckles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H3Knuckles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/1 "2013-11-22T16:20:39Z")
How about simple “x y” names (i.e., which is more red; ‘red orange’ or ‘orange red’)? I assume both would follow typical English adjective-noun order and mostly be the latter color, but I’m never sure. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/2 "2013-11-22T16:27:11Z")
For me, _x-ish y_ implies that you start with the _y_ and it leans a little _x_, so _reddish orange_ is more orange, with tones of red, whereas red-orange is red (mentioned first) that has some orange to it. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/3 "2013-11-22T16:36:55Z")
Xish Y is more Y to me (like others said, it’s Y base modified by X); however, X-Y makes me think of a color right in the middle. Wish that was a poll choice. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/4 "2013-11-22T16:45:08Z")
For me, in both “reddish orange” and “red-orange” orange is the main color bring modified by red(dish.) Compound and hyphenated words usually have their root at the end, so that’s how my brain parses it. Now is there a difference in degree? Perhaps, but not one I’d say I follow consistently. Reddish orange sounds like it should have a little less red in it than red orange, but I’m sure I’ve used the terms interchangeably. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/5 "2013-11-22T16:50:53Z")
I also may be influenced by Crayola. See [Yellow orange](http://www.crayola.com/explore-colors/yellow-orange.aspx) and [orange yellow.](http://www.crayola.com/explore-colors/orange-yellow.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![H3Knuckles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@H3Knuckles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H3Knuckles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/6 "2013-11-22T16:57:54Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Xish Y is more Y to me (like others said, it’s Y base modified by X); however, X-Y makes me think of a color right in the middle. Wish that was a poll choice. Ah, shucks. I should’ve thought of that. :smack: > [@pulykamell](#): > > For me, in both “reddish orange” and “red-orange” orange is the main color bring modified by red(dish.) Compound and hyphenated words usually have their root at the end, so that’s how my brain parses it. Now is there a difference in degree? Perhaps, but not one I’d say I follow consistently. Reddish orange sounds like it should have a little less red in it than red orange, but I’m sure I’ve used the terms interchangeably. I’d probably agree on both counts (differing degrees, but generally used the same) > [@pulykamell](#): > > I also may be influenced by Crayola. > > See [Yellow orange](http://www.crayola.com/explore-colors/yellow-orange.aspx) and [orange yellow.](http://www.crayola.com/explore-colors/orange-yellow.aspx) Huh, interesting observation, well that probably goes for most of us. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/7 "2013-11-22T17:18:32Z")
I voted for the bottom choice, but it’s still not quite right. Reddish orange is orange with a slight tinge of red. Yes, it’s orange that is slightly reddish, just like standard grammar rules would tell you. Red-orange is close to halfway between red and orange. It’s slightly more orange than orange-red would be. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/8 "2013-11-22T18:30:00Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Xish Y is more Y to me (like others said, it’s Y base modified by X); however, X-Y makes me think of a color right in the middle. Wish that was a poll choice. I would have voted this way too. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/9 "2013-11-22T18:38:07Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Xish Y is more Y to me (like others said, it’s Y base modified by X); however, X-Y makes me think of a color right in the middle. Wish that was a poll choice. This…forced to choose one (as I was, here), ‘red-orange’ would be more orange, since, as pulykamell said, as it’s written ‘red’ should be the modifier of ‘orange’. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/10 "2013-11-22T20:58:19Z")
Red-orange is 50% red and 50% orange. Reddish-orange is 40% red and 60% orange. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/11 "2013-11-22T21:14:45Z")
What **Rachellelogram** said, though for me I’d say it’s more like 30% red and 70% orange for reddish orange. You think this is confusing, just ask people what they think purple looks like. A noticeable minority will pick out a color I define as pink. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/12 "2013-11-22T21:20:45Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > You think this is confusing, just ask people what they think purple looks like. A noticeable minority will pick out a color I define as pink. Or tell you that something that is clearly purple is blue. I have gotten into some pretty heated fights with people about that. Some people either don’t have good mental boundaries when it comes to the purple range or they are some version of color-blind. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/13 "2013-11-22T21:38:43Z")
In English syntax, noun phrases use a “[left-branching](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-branching)” or “head-final” arrangement. That means the modifiers come first and the essential word comes last. If you say “red apple” or “green broccoli” you’re essentially talking about the headwords _apple_ and _broccoli_, not the colors red and green in themselves. If you say “red-orange” or “green-blue,” then the focus is primarily on the headwords, the colors _orange_ and _blue_, with _red_ and \*green \*serving as modifiers. I noticed when I was very young and coloring with my set of Crayolas that the compound color names like red-orange described a color that’s predominantly the second one in the compound. This made intuitive, empirical sense to me, because if I were to combine them on my own, first coloring an area with red and then going over it with orange, I’d get red-orange, i.e. a tinge of red added to mainly orange—in other words, laying down colors in the order they were named meant that the last-named one, the one on top, was predominant. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/14 "2013-11-22T21:47:15Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > I voted for the bottom choice, but it’s still not quite right. Reddish orange is orange with a slight tinge of red. Yes, it’s orange that is slightly reddish, just like standard grammar rules would tell you. > > Red-orange is close to halfway between red and orange. It’s slightly more orange than orange-red would be. I agree with this. It’s clearly and succinctly stated. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/15 "2013-11-22T21:54:54Z")
The funny thing about purple is that in popular parlance it has colonized the violet range, so that it covers about twice as much range as other colors. Ever notice how “violet” is the scientific name for the color at the high-frequency end of the visible light spectrum, but nobody ever refers to an object as violet-colored? In the _vox populi_ it’s always purple. Narrowly defined, purple is the color midway between magenta and violet. So, over the whole range that’s popularly called “purple,” violet is the bluer half while (narrowly-defined) purple is the redder half. Purple is next to magenta, while violet is next to indigo (the color that’s midway between violet and blue). ---
**Author:** ![James\_Toothpaste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e56c9b/32.png) [@James\_Toothpaste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Toothpaste)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/16 "2013-11-22T22:16:35Z")
Red orange is orange with a little red, while orange red is the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/17 "2013-11-22T22:36:58Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Red-orange is 50% red and 50% orange. > Reddish-orange is 40% red and 60% orange. Perfectly said! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/18 "2013-11-22T23:00:58Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Red-orange is 50% red and 50% orange. > Reddish-orange is 40% red and 60% orange. I would disagree with this, because that would make “red-orange” and “orange-red” equivalent to each other, and I don’t think they are. I would say the first is a bit more orange, and the second a bit more red. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/19 "2013-11-22T23:05:03Z")
I am fairly neutral between the last two options. Maybe _red-orange_ is redder than _reddish orange_, but I do not think I would ever say the former. I might say _orangey red_ (to mean something basically red, but with just a hint of orange). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535/20 "2013-11-22T23:06:36Z")
Reddish orange is mostly orange with just a hint of red. Red-Orange is nearly equal parts of red and orange, with maybe just slightly more red, so as to be barely distinct from Orange-Red. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-names-is-x-ish-y-mostly-x-or-mostly-y/674535.md?page=2)