Gray or grey?

Woollybear · Oct 12, 2019

So I default to spelling the color as grey. I've gotten edits returned and the editor changed many cases to gray, but left three as grey. (the first three cases in the manuscript, for what it's worth.)

Either this was a human oversight, or there's a reason the editor left (the first) three as grey. She's now traveling for the next week and I need to get my edited draft to the formatter.

Below are a few she changed, then the ones she left.

Should I change those to gray? (I think yes?) Or am I missing something here, and she's right to be using context-dependent spellings?

two smudges of gray lay along the coast ... nothing but the gray-smudged cities

tents in the gray morning

"I want you in a new suit. Gray.”

sooty gray brick ... squat gray structures ... miserable gray coveralls

his face gray ... the clouds were gray

dark hair shot through with gray

the Martire Arels lay velvet black on grey, jagged and hard

the mountains around him, ranging in greys and greens

and his complexion was a ruddy grey,

TellMeAStory · Oct 12, 2019

Gray in the us, grey in the uk.

I have that trouble too.

Kjbartolotta · Oct 12, 2019

I still can't spell it with an 'a', grey just seems more appropriate.

Marian Perera · Oct 12, 2019

I prefer "grey" as well.

Woollybear · Oct 12, 2019

But they should all be gray, yes? (or grey).

Is there any reason she'd be right to leave those last three spelled grey?

Maybe I should post this in ask the editor...?

Bufty · Oct 12, 2019

Patty said:
But they should all be gray, yes? (or grey).

Is there any reason she'd be right to leave those last three spelled grey?

Maybe I should post this in ask the editor...?

No idea why some were changed and some were left. Maybe the editor got fed up changing them.

Enlightened · Oct 12, 2019

In the U.S., Gray is a common surname. Both work for colors. I use grey when writing color. This doesn't mean Grey can't be a surname too; Gray is more common a surname, I believe.

Woollybear · Oct 12, 2019

I will assume she should have changed all of them.

Chase · Oct 12, 2019

TellMeAStory said:
Gray in the us, grey in the uk.

This.

It's like color versus colour and apologize versus apologise. Bufty is right; not suggesting changing grey to gray for US publication is a small editing error.

Woollybear · Oct 12, 2019

I understand the distinction, everyone.

My question is why the editor only changed some. Was that a mistake on her part? It sounds like people are trying to say yes, without saying yes.

Enlightened · Oct 12, 2019

Patty said:
I understand the distinction, everyone.

My question is why the editor only changed some. Was that a mistake on her part? It sounds like people are trying to say yes, without saying yes.

You'd have to ask the editor. Maybe he/she didn't catch them all (or got tired of changing them). Maybe he/she had another reason.

Gillhoughly · Oct 12, 2019

:editor's hat on:

Your editor made a mistake. She evidently prefers "gray" if this is for the US market.

Give her bloodshot thousand yard stare eyes a break and change the last three accordingly.

If you don't, I guarantee some nitpicking reader will blame YOU for it.

Woollybear · Oct 12, 2019

Thank you Gilloughly.

I recognize her herculean effort, for the record.

talktidy · Oct 12, 2019

Do you intend submitting to a publisher? If so, I would assume you'd need to fall in line with a house style, though I think the publisher would address this.

If you are looking to self-publish, I would stick with the usage most appropriate for the country where you live. I think the editor probably missed a few and there is no more significance than human error in this. I have not done any official editing work, but I have performed a few beta reads for friends, and I would have flagged this as an issue, rather than changed them in the text

MaeZe · Oct 12, 2019

Gillhoughly said:
:editor's hat on:

Your editor made a mistake. She evidently prefers "gray" if this is for the US market.

Give her bloodshot thousand yard stare eyes a break and change the last three accordingly.

If you don't, I guarantee some nitpicking reader will blame YOU for it.

That was my thought too. Both are acceptable. Look it up in any decent dictionary.

https://www.dictionary.com/e/gray-or-grey/

Grey and gray are both accepted in the English language. They refer to a color of a neutral tone between black and white, and can also be used metaphorically to convey gloom and dullness. However, gray is the more popular spelling in the US, while grey reigns supreme in the UK as well as Ireland, Australia, and other places that use British English. For centuries, the one letter difference between gray and grey has left people wondering if the two have different meanings.

I would think consistency matters, but not which one you choose. I always use gray.

By the way, search and replace all is an easy function. How she missed three is curious.

Woollybear · Oct 12, 2019

Thanks all. The issue is resolved.

benbenberi · Oct 13, 2019

I've seen many internet discussions where people are convinced that "gray" and "grey" refer to slightly different colorrs - generally one with a pinkish undertone, the other a bluish. But they can never agree on which one is which. It's actually just another US/UK spelling difference. Whichever you pick, global search-and-replace is your consistency friend.

Gray or grey?

Woollybear

TellMeAStory

Kjbartolotta

Potentially has/is dog

Marian Perera

starting over

Woollybear

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Enlightened

Always Learning

Woollybear

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Woollybear

Enlightened

Always Learning

Gillhoughly

Grumpy writer and editor

Woollybear

talktidy

MaeZe

Woollybear

benbenberi

practical experience, FTW