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Gray vs. Grey

August 5, 2008 | 8 Comments

Dear Garrison,
I write for a hobby and have a character whose eyes are the color of ash. I'm debating whether to say they are gray or grey. Do you have a preference?

Thanks,
Helen T.
Easley, SC

P.S. Congratulations on your cameo appearance in Stephen King's DUMA KEY. I think this means you have arrived.

For eyes, I'd write "grey" but for hair I'd write "gray"—suits, I don't know.—As for the King reference, I'm guessing that he had me doing the News from Lake Wobegon on the radio in a deserted home just as some horrible mutated creature bursts in and slaughters the family, or perhaps a carnivorous lawnmower.

8 Comments

Helen Turnage | August 7, 2008 6:28 AM | Reply

The reference to Garrison in DUMA KEY wasn't about A Prairie Home Companion, but was a free plug for Garrison Keillor's book, GOOD POEMS. The character reads from the book.

D.F. | August 7, 2008 9:50 PM | Reply

Grey vs. Gray? How about "ASH"?

Jim Ketchum | August 8, 2008 4:09 PM | Reply

The Associated Press Style Book calls for "gray" in all usages except "greyhound." For editors, it's our bible.

Chris Jerome | August 9, 2008 1:15 PM | Reply

Hi, folks. Regarding grey/gray. I'm a copy editor, and the style favored by American publishers is gray; grey is considered a British spelling. (That said, it's always seemed to me that grey has more white in it than gray, the color of battleships and submarines.)

Nel | August 9, 2008 2:31 PM | Reply

'Grey' is the British English spelling of the color. 'Gray' is the American English spelling (chiefly) of the color. 'Gray' is also a person's surname.

Why do people ask GK about things he knows nothing about? More mysterious: why does he risk an answer?

Edith Solveig B. | August 10, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply

As an editor, I can tell you that "gray" is the preferred way of spelling the color. However, it is perfectly acceptable to spell it "grey."

As an editor, if I were to receive a manuscript with both spellings (never mind that the word is consistently spelled "gray" for suits or "grey" for eyes), I would correct them all to be consistently spelled "gray." If the author would prefer the spelling "grey," then I would change it to that. But I would explain to the author that hee or she should know that consistency is important in a manuscript.

Jean-Marie | August 10, 2008 4:35 PM | Reply

Garrison,

I love your answer, but gray = American English and grey = British English. My question would be, was it Mr. Webster or someone else who decided that.

Grey | October 29, 2009 6:23 AM | Reply

I read that according to a survey conducted both in the U.S. and England, many people believe grey is an actual color perceived as the hue of “silver”, and gray is a sliding scale of values from black to white. This was believed in both reasons so it appears that aside from grammatical reasoning there is a connotative attitude toward the two