| 释义 |
grey area, n.
Brit. |greɪ ˈɛːrɪə|, U.S. |ˈgreɪ ˌɛriə|
Forms: see grey adj. and area n.
[‹ grey adj. + area n.]
1.
a. An intermediate area between two opposing positions; an ill-defined situation or field not easily categorizable or not readily conforming to an existing set of rules.
In quot. 1949: an area containing countries that may have Communist sympathies, as contrasted with a black area (containing Communist countries) and a white area (containing countries opposed to Communism).
1949L. Markel Public Opinion & Foreign Policy x. 198 This operation, especially in the ‘gray areas’, can be extremely effective, and it is especially needed in areas in which private enterprise is barred. 1951N.Y. Times 20 May 4/1 The Admiral outlined the United States program for the present period which he described as ‘the grey area’ between all-out war and peace. 1971H. S. Kushner When Children ask about God v. 118 Young children have difficulty in comprehending the ‘gray area’ between truth and falsehood. 1985Times 24 Apr. 19/2 They argue for just one single regulatory board..and the avoidance of grey areas. 1996Outlook (New Delhi) 28 Aug. 20/1 In such cases, the President's permission becomes necessary for prosecution, although some legal eagles still consider it a grey area. 2000‘Dr. K.’ Compl. Hacker's Handbk. iv. 41 In some parts of the US, using war diallers is illegal, constituting nuisance calls, but in the UK the use of war diallers is a grey area.
b. An area that is somewhat affected by poverty but that is not regarded as a slum.
1960N.Y. Times 13 Aug. 14 First priority for renewal resulting from the survey is expected to go to New York's so-called ‘gray areas’—blighted neighborhoods that have not yet sunk to slum depths. 1963Times 22 May 9/3 Within urban areas Mr. Wates said there were vast ‘grey’ areas—he mentioned Fulham, Battersea and Islington—which could not be classified as slums but were in need of rebuilding. 1970Daily Tel. 9 Apr. 21/4 Local authorities in administrative counties which include development areas and intermediate (‘grey’) areas will be able to borrow up to 50 p.c. of their capital finance needs from the Public Works Loans Board in 1970–1971. 1986Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 11 May i. 5 His ‘gray area’ residence, between slums and a wealthy neighborhood, is typical of the way Muppies [i.e. Mennonite urban professionals] justify their increasing wealth.
2. S. Afr. A residential area inhabited without segregation by people of differing ethnic backgrounds. Cf. grey adj. and n. Additions.
1978Sunday Times (Johannesburg) 29 Oct. 16/4 The solutions offered are as diverse as the contributors, ranging from city states to ‘grey areas’ and NRP-type consociational democracy. 1985South-Easter Aug.–Sept. 5 Woodstock became a ‘grey area’, an apartheid misnomer for one of the few suburbs left in South Africa where history and variety have been left fairly intact. 1993Geogr. Rev. 83 214 The government simply turns a blind eye to the darkening of gray areas in many large cities. 1999Toronto Star (Nexis) 6 June The Group Areas Act which restricted people to neighbourhoods according to their colour, was unravelling, and she moved into Johannesburg's so-called gray area of Troyeville. |