Grey or gray

I'm going to go with grEy (but as you've said, either will work). I've seen this spelling more commonly--but it could be because I work in a bookstore and am constantly scanning copies of Fifty Shades of Grey at the registers.

It really depends on the writer. I've seen people say "grEy if you're English, grAy if you're American", but I've also seen "grAy is closer to blAck, grEy is closer to whitE".

I prefer grey, but it doesn't really matter to me if people use gray too. Just be consistent.

Gray is more common in the US, I think, but I've seen grey used here too. Even if you prefer "gray," the dog breed is always spelled "greyhound" in the US, and there's a name, of course, that is spelled "Grey," which was the "pun" intended for the name of the Fifty Shades book.

I think in UK English, they prefer grey. I'd suggest you just pick one and stick with it.

Easy way to remember the difference: grAy is American English while grEy is UK English. There's no preference really, but each is more common in their own area.

Grey - UK, Gray - US - I'm unsure when it comes to Australia, South Africa etc

Ditto what TAMaxwell said - when referring to the color, in the US it's grAy, in the UK it's grEy.
And yes, I use American spelling and English spelling to remember which is which, though I do believe that the distinction is becoming less and less common.

Functionally, however, it's really up to you. Choose one and stick with it. At some point, an editor or publisher may correct you on it. That's what find and replace is for.

Thanks for clearing that up. In 7th grade, the UK/usa thing was what I've learned but over time I got confused. I always thought grEy was a better fit somehow, or kinda sounded more right, but then I had the vague memory that it should be grAy. Now I can die in peace.

TAMaxwell said:

Easy way to remember the difference: grAy is American English while grEy is UK English.

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Great mnemonics, Max.

The spelling is only different as to general US or UK usage. No dictionary I have supports any differences in spelling to indicate lighter or darker shades.

Either is correct. Grey is preferred in the UK, gray in the US (I've lived in both countries), but it's not an issue that's worth losing sleep over. There are lots of other simiiar cross-Atlantic preferences, like gaol v. jail and tyre v. tire (for vehicle wheels).

caw (or caugh, if you please)

Either is fine, just make sure you're consistent about it. I don't really think about it as I write, I just go back later and replace all the instances of one with the other. Same with "color" and "colour." Yay for the replace-all function

I use grey even though I'm an American because I'm an incurable Anglophile and it seems more British to use grey

My autocorrect goes to "gray", so I guess I go with that, lol! But I prefer the overall look of "grey" better.

I've never heard of different shades of gray being spelled differently. It's a concept I rather like, since I'm extremely color-sensitive and believe there should be more ways of differentiating between colors. But I don't think it's actually a real thing, sadly. At least, I've never heard of it in all my years as an artist and writer.

I'm going to chime in on the side of: "gray" is American, while "grey" is British. Unless you're talking about the name "Grey," in which case all bets are off. But yes, it's important to be consistent, not switching back and forth between spellings. As for which one to use, choose the spelling that agrees with your geographical location. If you're American, living in the US, and planning to submit your story to a US publisher, use "gray." If you're British, living in the UK, and planning to submit to a British publisher, use "grey."

I usually use grey, which I suppose I should change since I'm hoping to publish in the US. I don't know where I picked up spelling it the British way.

Grey is the spelling in Canada, too. In the States, some proper names can be Grey, but when referring to the colour -- er, color, they use gray.

Samsonet said:

It really depends on the writer. I've seen people say "grEy if you're English, grAy if you're American", but I've also seen "grAy is closer to blAck, grEy is closer to whitE".

I prefer grey, but it doesn't really matter to me if people use gray too. Just be consistent.

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It's interesting. I'm American but I've always preferred spelling it with an E.

To me, "gray", is a color, and "Grey" is a tea.

Jamesaritchie said:

To me, "gray", is a color, and "Grey" is a tea.

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What about "grey"?

I remember a shitstorm occurring on a forum years ago when a poster who identified as Native American insisted that it was appropriation and offensive for anyone other than a Native American to use the spelling "gray"... something to do with a tribal naming ritual. I had never heard that before (not surprising since I'm not Native American), and I still can find no information that tells me that's true.

Any Native Americans here who could weigh in on that? I'm STILL spelling it 'grey' to this day for fear of offending somebody.

paddismac said:

I'm STILL spelling it 'grey' to this day for fear of offending somebody.

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I'm offended by shouting STILL at me, using inside quote marks when they're not inside any proper double quotations, and writing the evil spelling of the color when a Greyhound bus once nearly ran me off the road.

Other than those horrors, I'm okay, Paddismac. Someone will always find something offensive.

Jamesaritchie said:

To me, "gray", is a color, and "Grey" is a tea.

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Grey is not a tea.

Grey is the tea.

**slurps her bergamot-scented elixir of awesome**

Chase said:

I'm offended by shouting STILL at me, using inside quote marks when they're not inside any proper double quotations, and writing the evil spelling of the color when a Greyhound bus once nearly ran me off the road.

Other than those horrors, I'm okay, Paddismac. Someone will always find something offensive.

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Heheheh... not sure of the proper spelling of a loud raspberry being blown. Is it pffftt? Or thhhhpp? I guess this is the best I can manage.

In case anyone was wondering, this is where I got the shade definition from. I like it because there are a lot of shades between colors and I love specific names for them*, but it is from tumblr, which is why I said that I've seen people say that.

*kinda related: does it annoy anyone else that pink is pink and not light red, while light blue is light blue and not another color?