# Gray or Grey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908 "2004-09-24T17:55:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/1 "2004-09-24T17:55:16Z")
My hair is gray. My hair is grey. Which is it?? Why can I not figure out which word is appropriate? Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/2 "2004-09-24T18:02:17Z")
You stole my thread. Thanks; this has been bugging me forever but I keep forgetting to post it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/3 "2004-09-24T18:05:14Z")
General Rule, not exclusive by any means: GREY if you are a Brit; GRAY if you are a Yank. Everybody else picks sides and takes their chances. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/4 "2004-09-24T18:12:04Z")
Agreed. Merriam-Webster gives _gray_ as the primary spelling, listing _grey_ only as a variant. I presume a British dictionary would give the reverse. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/5 "2004-09-24T18:16:32Z")
For the Earl and his tea, the Grey spelling is the only way to go. For everything else, you get a free choice, unless it’s part of a quoted phrase or a name or byname. For example, Fafhrd’s companion in the Lankhmar stories is the Gray Mouser – a grey mouser would simply be a way to describe a cat. The Grey Havens in Tolkien may well be described as gray, but their name is Grey. And the UK/US predominant usage already mentioned is pretty much the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/6 "2004-09-24T18:35:20Z")
[Wayne Campbell] Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon? [/Wayne Campbell] ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/7 "2004-09-24T19:46:00Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > General Rule, not exclusive by any means: GREY if you are a Brit; GRAY if you are a Yank. “Grey” is also the Canadian norm. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/8 "2004-09-24T19:49:13Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Why can I not figure out which word is appropriate? It’s a safe bet you can blame W.R. Hearst’s support of spelling reform for your colour confusion. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/9 "2004-09-24T19:52:15Z")
" Gray" and “grey” run neck and neck on google. Gray is a common second name in my wife’s family. ---
**Author:** ![sangfroid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@sangfroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sangfroid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/10 "2004-09-24T20:02:13Z")
Heh. Grey vs. Gray. I once wrote an essay for an English professor who knocked me a point for using British spelling. I replied that this was an English class, not an American class, right? Why should it matter? The prig wouldn’t give me back the point. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/11 "2004-09-24T20:32:48Z")
Ah. So if you maan the color, it’s spelled gray. But if you mean the colour, the word should be spelled grey. Got it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/12 "2004-09-24T20:35:19Z")
Grey is a colour. Gray is a color. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/13 "2004-09-24T20:36:26Z")
Damn slow connection. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/14 "2004-09-24T20:39:50Z")
Now if I could just turn the grey/colour into some useful mnemonic… Hmmm GrEy. ColoUr. EU. In the EU, they have the colour grey. Cool. (Obviously that’s a stretch, since the UK is hardly the EU, but it _will_ help me remember it now) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/15 "2004-09-24T21:02:10Z")
I always remember the “correct” spelling by thinking of the anagramically named Gary Gray. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/16 "2004-09-24T21:59:49Z")
Sidewalks, flashlights and trash cans are often gray, whereas pavements, torches and dustbins are usually _grey_. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/17 "2004-09-24T22:09:14Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Sidewalks, flashlights and trash cans are often gray, whereas pavements, torches and dustbins are usually _grey_. Uh, huh? Explain? Please? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/18 "2004-09-24T22:11:21Z")
Oops… that’s what preview’s for. Ignore that on this particular thread… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/19 "2004-09-24T22:34:27Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Uh, huh? Explain? Please? Sidewalk, flashlight, trashcan, gray = American Pavement, torch, dustbin, grey = British. ---
**Author:** ![lynxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e99b99/32.png) [@lynxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynxie)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908/20 "2004-09-24T23:56:13Z")
Sidewalk, flashlight, trashcan, gray = American Pavement, torch, dustbin, grey = British. Sidewalk, flashlight, garbage can, grey = Canadian. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-or-grey/265908.md?page=2)