grey area

Alternative forms

• gray area (US)

Etymology

Because grey is a blend of black and white, and thus a metaphor for how an imperfect nature is a blend of perfection and perfidy.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

grey area (plural grey areas)

1. (idiomatic) An area intermediate between two mutually exclusive states or categories, where the border between the two is fuzzy or ill-defined.

   It exists in a grey area between legal and illegal.

2. (idiomatic) A topic that is not clearly one thing or the other, that is open to interpretation.
   • 2007 May, Men's Health, volume 22, number 4, page 94:

     Fame is a grey area[.]

See also

• black and white
• fall between two stools
• twilight zone