History Main / GrayIsUseless

Gray is a rather dull color. So if it is used for normally brightly-colored buttons or even people, that's probably a bad sign. As far as the most common use is concerned, it means that button cannot be used, or that person is dead or can't help for some other reason.

* ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'': The Awakening magic system uses color as fuel: when you Awaken something you need to be touching something colorful, which fades to grey as part of the Awakening. This also means that items which are already grey can't be used to fuel Awakenings.

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': The Masks of Power are grey until worn by a Toa, when they change to that Toa's [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience colour]]. When the Bohrok-Kal steal the Nuva Symbols, depriving the Toa Nuva of their elemental powers, their masks turn gray again.

** Uninhabited planets and systems are color-coded gray, as there are no services available in there.

* PlayedWith in ''VideoGame/FreedomWars''. The names of weapon mods that are incompatible with other weapons are colored gray, meaning gray weapon mods don't positively or negatively affect the weapon, but activate with a compatible weapon. For example, a mod that increases CriticalHit damage doesn't affect a rocket launcher because all critical hit mods aren't compatible with ranged weapons or LifeDrain melee weapons, but a non-leeching spear is compatible with the mod, benefitting from the critical damage increase. The same thing applies for negative weapon mods.
* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Grow}} Grow Island]]'', if the Onky man is rejected by the woman, he'll fall on the ground, turn gray and will stop moving until the game is over. His inactivity hinders the game's progression.

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': Not-yet available units, abilities and researches have icons that are grayed out and don't have a border (or when bringing up the menu). Amusingly enough, custom maps that lack the appropriate greyed-out version of the icons will display them as neon-bright ''green'' instead.

* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': In [[https://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-499-inopportunity/ "#499 ? Inopportunity"]], Syndey notices that a new function has activated:
--> '''Sydney:''' That mystery button isn't grayed out any more.

* Inverted in use in some modern navies; the color was thought to help hide the vessel at a distance by making it harder to detect against a low-lying cloud; hence, the expression "Haze Grey and Underway."

* Most objects, when burned, turn either black or gray.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* On ''Website/{{Neopets}}'', Grey Faeries are Faeries who have lost their magic and wings, and are rendered sad and unable to do much.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', poor-quality items, which are usually VendorTrash, have their names in gray text.

* At various points in the ''[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]]'' franchise, Chaos Emeralds turn a translucent gray when drained of their power or energy.

* ''VideoGame/EndlessSky'': Ships disabled by excessive damage are grayed out on the minimap and can't act until repaired back to normal. Ships only temporarily disabled are marked blinking between gray and the usual color instead.

[[caption-width-right:350: A useless image.]]

* ''TabletopGame/DeadOfWinter'': "Helpless survivors" are represented as grey silhouette tokens and don't do any work for survivors, whereas the {{player character}}s have [[NominalImportance names]] and full-colour portraits.

* The Harry Potter fanfiction ''Core Threads'' represents each person's magical core as a ball of colorful threads. Muggles, who are incapable of doing magic, have gray threads.

[[folder: Literature]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grey_5.png]]