# "ginger" for red hair **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-for-red-hair/538384 "2010-05-05T06:42:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-for-red-hair/538384/21 "2010-05-06T02:26:05Z")
This is the most disturbing video about gingers (the “Ginger Refuge” sketch from the _Catherine Tate Show_): [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUhLIjlTNSk) According to the discussion in this video, the term “ginger” means something more specific than any kind of red hair. It apparently has to be something closer to a reddish-brown rather than a reddish-blonde color. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-for-red-hair/538384/22 "2010-05-06T02:51:40Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > Also, what you would call an “orange” coloured cat in the USA is also know as ginger on this side of the pond. A tabby cat. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-for-red-hair/538384/23 "2010-05-06T02:55:22Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > I think if one reads any English or Aussie literature from the last 50 or more years, I think he or she will find the term “ginger” to refer to a red-headed person. Australians being as they are such a person would more likely have been called Bluey - a short guy would be called Lofty, a bald guy Curly, a quiet one Rowdy and so on. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-for-red-hair/538384/24 "2010-05-06T03:22:57Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > A tabby cat. Tabby’s aren’t necessarily orange, are they? They’re quite often (if not more often) gray. I thought the term was basically for their coat pattern, and the typical “M” on their forehead. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-for-red-hair/538384/25 "2010-05-06T04:02:34Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Australians being as they are such a person would more likely have been called Bluey - a short guy would be called Lofty, a bald guy Curly, a quiet one Rowdy and so on. True! Just ask my dad, Bluey. These days the kids are calling redheads “rangas” (derived from orangutan, I believe). Dad took my little redheaded daughter out for a walk recently and the next day at work one of the guys said “Hey Blue! Saw you out walking with a little ranga last night.” ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-for-red-hair/538384/26 "2010-05-06T04:16:27Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > I think if one reads any English or Aussie literature from the last 50 or more years, I think he or she will find the term “ginger” to refer to a red-headed person. A good example is the long-running Australian cartoon character [Ginger Meggs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger_Meggs). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-for-red-hair/538384.md?page=1)