Gray Thursday
n. The evening of the United States Thanksgiving holiday, when some retailers offer sales and stay open until the early morning or all night.
Also Seen As
Grey Thursday
Etymology
cf. Black Friday
Examples
2014
Once upon a time, we used to call Gray Thursday "Thanksgiving." With Black Friday sales starting earlier each year, they were bound to bleed into Turkey Day.
—Tony Bravo, “The Sixteen Days of Holiday Retail,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 20, 2014
2012
Now Black Friday is slipping into "Grey Thursday" and taking retail workers with it. Walmart will open its doors at 8pm on Thanksgiving Day. Others, including Sears, Toys R Us and Kmart, will also open at 8pm on Thanksgiving. Target opens at 9pm.
—Dominic Rushe, “Black Friday slips into 'Grey Thursday' as retail giants face staff backlash,” The Guardian (London), November 14, 2012
2005 (earliest)
Hundreds of bargain hunters got a jump-start today. Retailers hoped to transform [this] into something of a gray Thursday. … The truth will lie in the amount of green they take in on black Friday.
—“Major chains opened today to get shoppers in early,” iNews Network, November 24, 2005
Filed Under
retailtime
Posted: November 26, 2014