GREY (BrE), GRAY (AmE)

In the US and UK, grey is connected with being dull and boring. It is, however, also a common colour for both men’s and women’s clothes. A ‘grey day’ is an unpleasant one because the sky is full of grey clouds. Grey is connected with old people, and is used in expressions such as the ‘grey vote’ (=the support of old people in an election) and the ‘grey pound’ (=the money that older people have available to spend)

BLACK

In the US and UK, black is a very popular colour for clothes of all types, and especially formal clothes. It is typically worn at funerals to show respect and sadness. Black clothes are often worn to social occasions in the evening, when women sometimes wear a ‘little black dress’ (-a simple, short, black dress with no sleeves, that is acceptable at most social occasions that happen in the evening or at night) and men sometimes wear black dinner jacket. Black is associated with death and evil. Witches (=women thought to have magic powers that they use to do bad things) are thought to wear black and to have black cats. ‘Black magic’ is believed to be magic that uses the power of the devil for evil purposes. The ‘black sheep’ of a family is a member of the family who chooses to live his or her life in a way that is different from the other members, and that they disapprove of.

WHITE

In the US and UK, white is associated with purity ad virginity. Traditionally, women wear long white dresses when they get married. White is also associated with moral goodness. People imagine that the Christian god and his angels (=spirits that live with god and have white wings) wear white, and that Heaven (=believed by Christians to be the home of god, where good Christians go when they die) is a place where there are many clouds. If someone’s face looks ‘as white as a sheet’ they are pale because they are ill or very frightened. A ‘white flag’ is traditionally used by people fighting in a battle, to show they surrender (=accept that they have been defeated). The expression ‘white-collar’ is used to talk about social class. A white-collar worker works in an office, bank, etc. (compare ‘blue-collar).

PINK

In the US and UK, pink is thought of as a pretty colour that is worn by women and girls. Pale pink is associated with baby girls, who are traditionally dressed in this colour. Today many parents avoid dressing their girls in pink because they think that it strengthens sexual stereotypes. Pink is also connected with homosexual men, and is used in expressions such as the ‘pink pound’ (=the money that homosexual men have available to spend)