The One Ring Forums: Off Topic: The Pollantir: How do you spell gray/grey?

The One Ring Forums: Off Topic: The Pollantir:
How do you spell gray/grey?

Poll: How do you spell gray/grey?
gray	8 / 12%
grey	37 / 54%
both	23 / 34%
neither (please elaborate)	0 / 0%
68 total votes

Arwen's daughter
Half-elven

Oct 4 2012, 3:13pm

Views: 1510

How do you spell gray/grey?

While double-checking my list of hood colors for gramma's geeky observation thread, I found that I often switch between spelling in the same line. What's your usual spelling of the word?

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DanielLB
Immortal

Oct 4 2012, 3:15pm

Views: 947

Isn't gray used by pesky Americans ;-p

It's grey in the UK.

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Arwen's daughter
Half-elven

Oct 4 2012, 3:36pm

Views: 902

I believe that's how it's supposed to work

My spelling was pretty much broken by British SF/F writers in my youth. Took a long time to break myself of colour Cool

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Ardamírë
Valinor

Oct 4 2012, 3:48pm

Views: 891

Mine's the same story.

I grew up reading C.S. Lewis and Tolkien and just generally have gotten some of the spelling confused. I personally think that "grey" looks better.

"...and his first memory of Middle-earth was the green stone above her breast as she sang above his cradle while Gondolin was still in flower." -Unfinished Tales

DanielLB
Immortal

Oct 4 2012, 4:19pm

Views: 904

I tell a lie ... I've used gray quite a lot in the past

I've dabbled in soil science, and gray is always used in that science.

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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal

Oct 4 2012, 5:54pm

Views: 890

Me too.

I tend to use "gray" when I'm writing things that I know other people will read, and "grey" when I'm writing for myself :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
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Arwen's daughter
Half-elven

Oct 4 2012, 6:10pm

Views: 826

That tends to be my rule of thumb, as well //

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Magpie
Immortal

Oct 4 2012, 8:35pm

Views: 869

I prefer grey...

but will, in my professional world of graphic design, use gray. Sometimes that's the proper spelling of something (like Pantone colors). Other times, I feel like I'm being deliberately geeky to use grey (in the gd world -- because I used it purely as a fan of Tolkien) and I don't like feeling like I'm making some sort of geek point.

I can remember a long conversation back in the day at the Barnes and Noble University LOTR class about this.

At the time, I copied off some information from the OED that appears to the same as in this post:
http://www.unilang.org/...k=t&sd=a#p715105

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(This post was edited by Magpie on Oct 4 2012, 8:36pm)

Ardamírë
Valinor

Oct 4 2012, 9:31pm

Views: 897

I use them interchangeably

Just because I never think about it. I just write whatever I write. Truthfully, though, I don't really write "gray" or "grey" very often. No need to. Laugh

"...and his first memory of Middle-earth was the green stone above her breast as she sang above his cradle while Gondolin was still in flower." -Unfinished Tales

silneldor
Half-elven

Oct 5 2012, 1:48am

Views: 815

Hmm, i just realized something.

I use grey to signify colors in nature and gray those things man-made.
Come to thing of it, all those fancy cars that are deemed 'silver'...to me they all are, just gray.

DanielLB
Immortal

Oct 5 2012, 6:50am

Views: 868

The surname "Gray" is also quite populer.

I don't see many with the surname "Grey".

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macfalk
Valinor

Oct 5 2012, 10:03am

Views: 831

English isn't my first language, but they taught me since young age here that it's "grey" //

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.

Otaku-sempai
Immortal

Oct 5 2012, 12:03pm

Views: 841

I'm American and acknowledge both spellings

From Tolkien we have Gandalf the Grey.

Fritz Leiber gave us the adventurers Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.

'Thus spake Ioreth, wise-woman of Gondor: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known.' - Gandalf the White

imin
Valinor

Oct 5 2012, 12:56pm

Views: 918

Pretty much this

Grey in the UK
Gray in the US.

I automatically always use grey as it is what i was taught as a child and i think it looks better. Nothing wrong with gray other than it just doesn't feel right. Tongue

burgahobbit
Rohan

Oct 5 2012, 8:29pm

Views: 829

I think so too

Grey looks better!

acheron
Gondor

Oct 6 2012, 3:56am

Views: 800

I think we discussed this recently

I am American and spell it "grey", and I'm pretty sure it's because of Gandalf.

Well, him and Susan Cooper's "The Grey King".

For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars, and so on -- while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man, for precisely the same reasons. -- Douglas Adams

Escapist
Gondor

Oct 6 2012, 4:01am

Views: 829

It depends on the shade.

Grey brings to my mind a lighter color like fog.
Gray brings to my mind an earthier color that might be the color of stones in the ground or on the beach.
At least for right now - but I also recognize both.

wendy woo
Rivendell

Oct 6 2012, 4:43am

Views: 832

I think I may bounce between the two. How about "theater"/"theatre" also?

I've used both spellings of that word as well.

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I don't know, but he was limpin' when he left.
He was limpin' when he got here!

DanielLB
Immortal

Oct 6 2012, 7:58am

Views: 820

Theater just looks wrong ;-P /

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Patty
Immortal

Oct 6 2012, 1:34pm

Views: 798

I use both

But for some reason I think I prefer it with an "a".

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malickfan
Gondor

Oct 6 2012, 1:53pm

Views: 749

Being English its Grey

‘As they came to the gates Cirdan the Shipwright came forth to greet them. Very tall he was, and his beard was long, and we was grey and old, save that his eyes were keen as stars; and he looked at them and bowed, and said ‘All is now ready.’

Radagast-Aiwendil
Gondor

Oct 7 2012, 9:24pm

Views: 721

Tolkien says "Gandalf the Grey" so that's the answer I'm going with

Although they use gray in the US and some other countries (forgive me for not seeing why some spellings need to be changed for use in the US), grey is the original (and therefore to my mind superior) spelling.

"Radagast is, of course, a worthy wizard, a master of shapes and changes of hue, and he has much lore of herbs and beasts, and birds are especially his friends."-Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings.

Ring-Bearer
Rivendell

Oct 8 2012, 3:02am

Views: 897

Grey

Though American, I prefer 'Grey'. It just feels better to write, and after all, that's how Tolkien wrote it. Smile

'What are we holding on to, Sam?'
'There's good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for!'

'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!'

(This post was edited by Ring-Bearer on Oct 8 2012, 3:03am)

Finding Frodo
Tol Eressea

Oct 9 2012, 3:23am

Views: 783

I was just thinking about this

My daughter had "gray" on her spelling list to study, and it gave me pause when quizzing her. I mentioned to her that it can also be spelled "grey", but just to spell it the way her teacher told her! I certainly have spelled it both ways, though.

Where's Frodo?

Annael
Immortal

Oct 9 2012, 3:54pm

Views: 744

me too

All that reading of British authors has twisted my mind to "grey." Especially Georgette Heyer. All her characters have grey eyes. Which I've only seen on one person in my life, but perhaps she means the steel-blue eyes that my niece and nephew have?

The way we imagine our lives is the way we are going to go on living our lives.

- James Hillman, Healing Fiction

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Ardamírë
Valinor

Oct 9 2012, 5:01pm

Views: 883

I'd love to see someone with grey eyes.

I think they sound very beautiful.

"...and his first memory of Middle-earth was the green stone above her breast as she sang above his cradle while Gondolin was still in flower." -Unfinished Tales