Grey vs. Gray

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Grey vs. Gray

Grey vs. Gray

Personally, I always use the spelling grey, because it just looks so much nicer. Unless I'm describing some ugly cement-- gray.

What about you? 

submitted by Shoshannah
(April 30, 2017 - 1:25 pm)

The opposite for me! The 'A' gives the otherwise bland-colored word a jolt of red. The 'E' adds an almost unnoticable drop of orange. When I'm trying to use positive diction, I go with gray, and with negative diction I use grey. 

submitted by Cockleburr
(April 30, 2017 - 1:43 pm)

Grey looks more natural, but gray adds more color.

Cockleburr, are you a synesthesiac?

Then again, I  sound synesthesiac, too.

submitted by coyotedomino, age 14, the Wood, Omniverse
(April 30, 2017 - 4:25 pm)

I am, actually! I have words-colors and sounds-colors. I might have emotion-colors as well, but I've only recoginized that once.

I spun off the low bar at gymnastics while trying to do a freehip. My hand slipped. Normally when this happens, you do a helocopter spin thing over the bar on your thighs and land on your back, but I somehow managed to land in a squat on my feet and stand up again. When I realized I had actually landed it, a wave of bright aqua swept over me for a second, the most intense I've ever seen a color. I guess aqua is surprised-exited for me.

submitted by Cockleburr
(April 30, 2017 - 9:06 pm)

I don't exactly think in colors. I mean, some things are, like Charleston, West Virginia is magenta. (I don't know why.) But I can think in colors if asked. And I do, a lot! 

But anyway, back to the grey/gray:

I use grEy for softer things, like the color of a horse's dappled pelt or marble. I use grAy for harder things, like concrete. I don't know why. That's just how it makes sense to me. GrEy seems to be bluey greener, and grAy is redder. (more reddish?) But yeah. That's my weirdness.

~Starseeker 

submitted by Starseeker, age 154 moons, Nightwing Kingdom
(May 1, 2017 - 9:16 am)

Same! Although I'm not synesthetic, I do have associations. On kids' crayons and other bright and colorful things, they always use the a. But when describing something bland, I usually see the e.

submitted by Mei-xue (May-shreh), Fairyland
(April 30, 2017 - 5:03 pm)

I think gray is a much nicer word than grey. It seems more cheerful.  

But on a side note, I'm pretty sure grey is the British way of spelling it and gray is the American way. 

submitted by Danie
(April 30, 2017 - 4:53 pm)

Gray makes me think of more redder gray, and grey makes me think of more greenish gray. I saw somewhere that in England it's supposed to be spelled grey, and in America it's supposed to be spelled gray. I have no idea whether that's true or not.

submitted by Bluebird
(April 30, 2017 - 5:20 pm)

I use grey. I didn't know "gray" was a correct way of spelling it!

submitted by LilyPad
(April 30, 2017 - 5:29 pm)

Oh, so is that how you're taught to spell it in Australia? You should use 'gray' and see what your teacher says!

submitted by Cockleburr
(April 30, 2017 - 9:07 pm)

It's never been a huge preference thing for me- whenever I use 'grey', it's describing someone who old. Like "old and grey". More of a pale, aged word. And 'gray' just describes the color, like "thick gray fur." Like a darker-colored word.

submitted by Clouded Leopard
(May 1, 2017 - 7:15 am)

I use grey, just because the E is a pleasant light blue color, the A is a jarring red that really ruins the word for me.

submitted by Savvy44x
(May 1, 2017 - 9:10 am)

Hey, do you have synesthesia too?

submitted by Cockleburr
(May 1, 2017 - 10:26 am)

I use grey and gray interchangeably, I actually don't know which I prefer. To me, grey seems darker, like not as pleasant whilst gray is more upbeat, or at least how much the color can be. According to Grammarly, the grammar/spelling program I have on my computer, it marks grey as wrong, but I think I have it set to US English, which explains that. 

submitted by Ashlee G., age 16, The Future
(May 1, 2017 - 10:38 am)

I agree with the majority of you. Gray is way more upbeat, jolly, exciting! Grey is drab, dreary, cement like.

submitted by Inktail
(May 1, 2017 - 3:34 pm)

I use 'grey' most of the time. It looks more professional, somehow. I think the 'a' in 'gray' makes it look more round and childish, whereas the 'e' in 'grey' matches the color scheme and looks more mature.

@Cockleburr--You have sound colors?! Can you tell what note a sound is just by its color? Or do you just see a color when you hear a sound? Also, I'm curious. I have lexical synesthesia, but I only see the colors of the letters/numbers in my mind's eye. Do you see the colors of the letters, or just see the colors in your mind's eye?

submitted by Micearenice
(May 1, 2017 - 11:54 am)