3. (colloquial).—A dirty sloven; generally used of elderly people.
4. (American).—A careful student; a hard reader.
1856. Hall, College Words and Phrases, quoted from Williams' Coll. Quarterly, ii., 246. A hard reader or student: e.g., not grubs or reading men, only wordy men.
5. (American).—Roots and stumps; whatever is 'grubbed up.'
6. (cricketers').—A ball delivered along the ground; a grounder (q.v.); a daisy-*cutter (q.v.). For synonyms, see Lob-sneak.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf. Grub, s.v.
Verb. (old).—1. To take or supply with food. For synonyms, see subs. sense 1.
1725. New Cant. Dict. Grub, s.v., to eat.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. Grub, s.v., to dine.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick, ch. xxii., p. 184. I never see such a chap to eat and drink; never. The red-nosed man warn't by no means the sort of person you'd like to grub by contract, but he was nothin' to the shepherd.
1883. Daily Telegraph, 18 May, p. 3, c. 1. 'They are not bound to grub you, don't you know,' said Mr. Sleasey, 'and they try the starving dodge on you sometimes.'
2. (old).—To beg; to ask for alms, especially food.
3. (American).—To study, or read hard; to 'sweat.'
To ride grub, verb. phr. (old).—To be sulky; crusty (q.v.); disagreeable.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. To ride grub, to be sullen or out of temper.
To grub along, verb. phr. (common).—To make one's way as best one can; 'to rub along.'
1888. Daily Telegraph, 19 Oct. When a youth left school to follow the pursuits of life he found that he had to grub along as best he could.
Grubbing, subs. (common).—Eating.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib. What with snoozing, high grubbing, and guzzling like Cloe.
Grubbery, subs. (common).—(1)
an eating-house. Also (2) a
dining-room, and (3) the mouth.
Grubbing-crib, subs. (general).—1.
An eating-house. Grubbing-crib
faker = the landlord of a
cheap cookshop. Fr., le nourrisseur;
Sp., un ostalero. See
Grub Shop, sense 2.
English Synonyms.—Grubbery grubby-, or grubbing-ken; grub-shop; guttle-shop; hash-house mungarly casa; prog-shop slap-bang shop; tuck-shop waste-butt.
French Synonyms.—Un bourre-boyaux (popular = a stuff-your-guts); un claquedents (popular, also = a brothel, or punting-house); une guingette (general); une mangeoire (popular = a grubbery: manger = to eat); un mattais (popular); un gargot (thieves').
German Synonym.—Achile-*bajes (from Heb., Ochal = to eat).
Spanish Synonym.—Ostaleria, or Osteria (also = lush-crib).
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v.
2. (tramps').—A workhouse. For synonyms, see Spinniken. Sometimes Grubbiken.
