186-grey worker road

[matilda]

Hello all
What does the following sentence mean? The part in the parentheses.

He is a guy who wanted to play football, but was refused the chance as a teenager and instead has to go the( grey worker road) to support himself.

Thank you

Matilda

[Fieldmouse]

Originally Posted by matilda

Hello all
What does the following sentence mean? The part in the parentheses.
He is a guy who wanted to play football, but was refused the chance as a teenager and instead has to go the( grey worker road) to support himself.
Thank you
Matilda

Hello Matilda,

I have never heard of "the grey worker road" but I have heard of a "grey collar worker."

I've checked on the web for an exact definition of a grey collar worker and there appears to be a different interpretation of it, depending on which country you are in.

To my knowledge, a grey collar worker does the lowest paid work, as opposed to a white collar worker (top jobs) or a blue collar worker (technical worker, mechanic, etc.)

I think, in the context you give, your disappointed, would-be footballer has probably been forced to do menial work such as food preparation or table clearing in the catering industry.




Fieldmouse

[matilda]

thank you for your definition. but i got it from a biography of an actor.
are you sure about your reply?
can you check it with your friends? because you are a native speaker

[DavyBCN]

Originally Posted by matilda

thank you for your definition. but i got it from a biography of an actor.
are you sure about your reply?
can you check it with your friends? because you are a native speaker

I have never heard or seen grey worker before, but grey is a word which (BE speakers at least) often use to describe something or someone who is boring or nondescript, so perhaps your example is contrasting the glamour of the job of a footballer with a more boring job? Grey (deriving mainly from AE usage) is also used as an adjective for things to do with older people (like me!) - but we are not boring of course.