Meaning & use
salt and pepper hair
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
Hair that is a mix of dark and gray or white strands, usually because of aging.
Grammar: Used without 'a' or a plural: 'He has salt and pepper hair.' Not 'a salt and pepper hair'.
Patterns
- have salt and pepper hair
- with salt and pepper hair
My grandfather has salt and pepper hair and a short beard.
She decided to stop dyeing her hair and let it go salt and pepper.
The actor appeared with salt and pepper hair, looking older than in his last film.
Common combinations
- salt and pepper hair
- He has salt and pepper hair and a friendly smile.
- go salt and pepper
- Her hair went salt and pepper in her fifties.
- salt-and-pepper beard
- The professor had a salt-and-pepper beard.
- salt and pepper color
- The yarn comes in a salt and pepper color.
Synonyms and how they differ
- graying hair
- Focuses on the process of becoming gray, while 'salt and pepper hair' describes the mixed dark and gray result.
- grizzled
- An adjective meaning streaked with gray; it is more literary and often used of men's hair or beards.
Word family
- salt-and-pepper adjective
- Used before a noun: salt-and-pepper hair.
Commonly confused: salt and pepper hair or pepper-and-salt?
salt and pepper hair vs pepper-and-salt
A less common variant of the same idea, but 'salt and pepper' is the standard order.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'salt and pepper hair' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase is uncountable, so it does not take 'a' or a plural. 'They have salt and pepper hair' is correct; the others wrongly add articles or plurals.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “salt and pepper hair”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.