# Why is it a Grey Ghost and not a Gray Ghost?



## cbustapeck (Nov 21, 2020)

Maybe this is a silly question, but it got me thinking. 

If we are using American English, it should be a Gray Ghost. Grey Ghost is British English. Is there something in the vehicular world that this is alluding to? The closest thing that I can think of is the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. 

I am genuinely curious, by the way.


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## phantom (Nov 21, 2020)

Maybe because Colonel John Mosby, aka The Gray Ghost, was a Confederate Soldier. Possibly Schwinn just chose to use Grey instead of Gray to be PC.


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## CURTIS L LINDGREN (Nov 21, 2020)

*Grey* and *gray* are two different spellings of the same word. *Gray* is more common in the U.S., while *grey* is more common in other English-speaking countries. In proper names—like Earl *Grey* tea and the unit *Gray*, among others—the *spelling* stays the same, and they need to be memorized.


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## Frank and Pam Skid Kings (Nov 21, 2020)

Got me googling and there is actually a color Chicago grey. And on line you can order Chicago Bears jerseys in "grey". Maybe a regional thing? I asked my wife how to spell it and she said grey ! There you go...


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## phantom (Nov 21, 2020)

CURTIS L LINDGREN said:


> *Grey* and *gray* are two different spellings of the same word. *Gray* is more common in the U.S., while *grey* is more common in other English-speaking countries. In proper names—like Earl *Grey* tea and the unit *Gray*, among others—the *spelling* stays the same, and they need to be memorized.



I think the OP knew that via Google. The question was why did Schwinn use Grey?


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## rustjunkie (Nov 21, 2020)

phantom said:


> Maybe because Colonel John Mosby, aka The Gray Ghost, was a Confederate Soldier. Possibly Schwinn just chose to use Grey instead of Gray to be PC.


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## CURTIS L LINDGREN (Nov 21, 2020)

phantom said:


> I think the OP knew that via Google. The question was why did Schwinn use Grey?



I'm allowed 1 brain fart per day.........................i'll use this one for today


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## GTs58 (Nov 21, 2020)

I always thought Grey was used by girls and Gray was used by boys. It's a gender thing.


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## cbustapeck (Dec 8, 2020)

Random thought with zero facts behind it.

Jaguar, of Coventry, England, sold well equipped automobiles under the _Jaguar _brand. 
Schwinn, of Chicago, sold well equipped bicycles under the _Jaguar _brand.

Rolls-Royce, also of England, sold cars under the _Phantom _brand, as did Schwinn.

Rolls-Royce did various vehicles with _Silver _in them, including the _Ghost_, _Dawn_, _Cloud_, _Shadow_, and _Wraith_.

So, let's say you are Schwinn and want that Rolls-Royce-sounding association. You cannot say call your bike a _Silver Shadow_ or _Silver Wraith_, but you can say "Grey", which is pretty close, and importantly, connotes that one is referring to a certain something British. Same with "Wraith" and "Ghost". 

So instead of a _Schwinn Stingray Silver Shadow_, you have a _Schwinn Stingray Grey Ghost_. 

Of course, this is pure speculation. 

Note: In the early 20th century, Rolls-Royce did make a _Silver Ghost_.

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Earlier, I thought that perhaps there might be some meaningful relationship in literature in the 1960s between "Grey Ghost" and "Gray Ghost". 

I'm always good for an excuse to share one of my favorite weird internet tools, the _Google Ngram Viewer_. Remember back when the Google Books projected digitized more than 25 million volumes? Well, in addition to being searchable separately, it also provided a massive body of text for research purposes. With the Ngram viewer, one can graph the rate of different phrases and words over time. 

If we search the entire corpus of works in English between 1950 and 1975, the rate of change in usage between the one and the other doesn't seem that significant. 





Likewise American English for the same period:




Not saying anything here other than:
1. Look, cool pictures!
2. Alas, no meaning to be found.


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## Jeff54 (Dec 8, 2020)

cbustapeck said:


> Random thought with zero facts behind it.
> 
> Jaguar, of Coventry, England, sold well equipped automobiles under the _Jaguar _brand.
> Schwinn, of Chicago, sold well equipped bicycles under the _Jaguar _brand.
> ...



That's B/C it's a gray area.


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Dec 8, 2020)

Grey is an older used English spelling,Gray is often used in american english they both mean a mix of black and white


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