gr[ae]y matter

[rone]

[Poll #1504390]

Comments

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

"Grey" is more sophisticated than "gray."

[sweh.livejournal.com]

"Gray" is either the SI unit (Gy) for measuring absorbed radiation, or the American misspelling of "grey" :-)

[ewx.livejournal.com]

[in 1893] “Many correspondents said that they used the two forms with a difference of meaning or application: the distinction most generally recognized being that grey denotes a more delicate or a lighter tint than gray. Others considered the difference to be that gray is a ‘warmer’ colour, or that it has a mixture of red or brown”

I suspect those correspondents would be optimistic if they expected to be reliably understood in the ways they describe...

[devonapple.livejournal.com]

I see "grey" used most often in the usernames of wiccan-compliant types to imply the wisdom associated with experience, which is usually attributed to having earned gray/grey hair.

[pootrootbeer.livejournal.com]

I tend towards the "gray" spelling now because of certain early web browsers that implemented HTML's 16 named colors by stemming from the first three letters of each value; thus "grey" would be misinterpreted as "green".

[sambushell.livejournal.com]

I don't think american citizens are allowed to use the word "grey". Aid and comfort to the OED, or something.

[ptomblin-lj.livejournal.com]

I worked on a project that dealt with colour a lot. It had been written by Australians, worked on for several years by Americans, and then they hired me (a Canadian) to work on it. The correct spelling of that colour (or indeed, the word "colour") was a constant source of debugging fun.

[dwenius.livejournal.com]

Nobody ever gets abducted by the Grays.
Only by the Greys.

Which, given current US Immigration policy, probably explains our spelling preference! Fnarr Fnarr.

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

I do feel there's a qualitative difference between crawfish and crayfish, though.

But I can explain how.

[schwa242.livejournal.com]

Grey is bluer and greener. Gray is redder. You're welcome.

[pennyhill.livejournal.com]

There are far more compound words with gray, from graybeard to grayfish (as opposed to crayfish), to gray wolf. I'm sure that means something. Both gray and grey seem to come from Old English. Does the OED differentiate them further back - from different languages? Now I'm curious.

[epileptikitty.livejournal.com]

Is there a subliminal pronunciation difference, like 'caught' v.s. 'cot'?

Phonological history of English low back vowels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_low_back_vowels).

[ikkyu2.livejournal.com]

'Gray' is a neutral color. 'Grey' to me has associations with yellowness and greasiness, very negative associations. It's also associated with bergamot for obvious reasons.

I understand that they are actually supposed to be synonyms, but this is happening on some other level.

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

Someone who used "gray" killed my parents, you insensitive clod!

[tau-iota-mu-c.livejournal.com]

"gray" is American and so is covered in boold.