grubn.

Brit.

/ɡrʌb/, U.S.

/ɡrəb/

Forms: Middle English grobbe, grubbe, 1600s grubb, 1500s– grub.

Etymology: ? < grub v.

1. The larva of an insect, esp. of a beetle; a caterpillar, maggot; (also, now dialect) a worm.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > division Vermes > [noun] > member of (worm)

grubc1420

lumbricc1440

helminth1852

naid1886

naidid1931

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > larva

niteOE

wormOE

grubc1420

canker1440

caterpillarc1440

cankerworm1530

mad1573

bug1594

blote1657

vermicle1657

hexapod1668

grub-worm1752

truffle-worm1753

larva1768

larve1822

c1420 Pallad. on Husb. vii. 63 Benys..vpplucked sone, maad clene, and sette vp wel refrigerate, ffrom grobbis saaf wol kepe vp their estate.

1486 Bk. St. Albans A iv If the frounce be wex as greete as a note Than ther is a grubbe ther in.

?a1500 Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.) vii. 227 The dirte is so deepe..and the grubbs thereon doe creepe.

1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. iii. 126 What torch is yond that vainly lends his light To grubs and eyelesse sculles.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iv. 11 There is differency between a Grub & a Butterfly, yet your Butterfly was a Grub.

a1657 G. Daniel Idyllia in Poems (1878) IV. iii. 169 The World's an Ant-hill, and the little Grubbs Stocke themselves warme.

1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 28 That Spumeous froth or dew which..we call Cuckow-Spittle,..in which you shall always find a little Grub, or Animal.

1669 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 4 914 He affirms, that Timber-trees fell'd, when the wind is in the West,..will keep them free from grubs, (as they call it) i.e. from being worm-eaten.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 204/1 The Grub is a general term for the smaller worms that breed in the Earth.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VIII. 63 The history of grubs changing into their corresponding winged animals.

1785 W. Cowper Task v. 90 The very rooks and daws forsake the fields, Where neither grub, nor root, nor earth~nut, now Repays their labour more.

1800 C. Marshall Introd. Knowl. & Pract. Gardening (ed. 3) xv. 227 Winter lettuces..in the open ground are often destroyed by grubs lurking about the roots.

1859 R. Thompson Gardener's Assistant 571 The grub of another insect (Byturus tomentosus) is very frequently found in the fruit.

1883 Encycl. Amer. I. 138/2 The White Grub (Lachnosterna fusca Froh.)..is the larva of the well~known ‘May-bug’ or ‘June-bug’.

1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire Grub, any kind of worm except the largest.

figurative.1837 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Bacon in Ess. (1880) 356 He was now in a chrysalis state, putting off the worm and putting on the dragon-fly, a kind of intermediate grub between sycophant and oppressor.1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xl. 165 He..knelt down a grub, and rose a butterfly. John Chester Esquire was knighted and became Sir John.

2. contemptuous.

†a. A short, dwarfish fellow.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > bodily height > shortness > [noun] > person

dwarfeOE

congeonc1230

go-by-ground?a1300

smalla1300

shrimpc1386

griga1400

gruba1400

murche1440

nirvil1440

mitinga1450

witherling1528

wretchocka1529

elf1530

hop-o'-my-thumb1530

pygmy1533

little person1538

manikin1540

mankin1552

dandiprat1556

yrle1568

grundy1570

Jack Sprat1570

squall1570

manling1573

Tom Thumb1579

pinka1585

squib1586

screaling1594

giant-dwarf1598

twattle1598

agate1600

minimus1600

cock sparrow1602

dapperling1611

modicum1611

scrub1611

sesquipedalian1615

dwarflinga1618

wretchcock1641

homuncio1643

whip-handle1653

homuncule1656

whippersnapper1674

chitterling1675

sprite1684

carliea1689

urling1691

wirling1691

dwarf man1699

poppet1699

durgan1706

short-arse1706

tomtit1706

Lilliputian1726

wallydraigle1736

midge1757

minikin1761

squeeze-crab1785

minimum1796

niff-naff1808

titman1818

teetotum1822

squita1825

cradden1825

nyaff1825

weed1825

pinkeen1850

fingerling1864

Lilliput1867

thumbling1867

midget1869

inch1884

shorty1888

titch1888

skimpling1890

stub1890

scrap1898

pygmoid1922

lofty1933

peewee1935

smidgen1952

pint-size1954

pint-sized1973

munchkin1974

a1400–50 Alexander 1753 And slike a dwinyng, a dwaȝe, & a dwerȝe as þi-selfe, A grub [Dubl. MS. grob], a grege out of grace.

1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 63 Iohn Romane, a short clownish grub, would beare the whole carkase of an Oxe, and yet neuer tugged with him.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Rabougri,..a grub, counterfeit, short or short-necked crooke-backe.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Grub, a Dwarf, or short Fellow.

b. A person of mean abilities, a dull industrious drudge, a literary hack; (in later use) a person of slovenly attire and unpleasant manners.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [noun] > tedious or dull person

grub1653

noddeea1680

insipid1699

rocker1762

bore1812

Dryasdust1819

insipidity1822

prose1844

bagpipe1850

vampire1862

pill1865

jeff1870

terebrant1890

poop1893

stodger1905

club bore1910

nudnik1916

stodge1922

dreary1925

dreep1927

binder1930

drip1932

douchebag1946

drear1958

drag1959

noodge1968

anorak1984

1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. Prol. 6 So saith a Turlupin or a new start-up grub of my books.

1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xxx. 269 This miserable grub [the captain's clerk], who had been an attorney's boy.

1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker II. 15 A dull author generally distinguishes himself by some oddity or extravagance. For this reason, I fancy, that an assembly of Grubs must be very diverting.

1796 M. Robinson Angelina I. 71 Is it not a scandal to humanity that such an illiterate grub as Sir Edward should feed on all the luxuries of life?

1842 T. De Quincey Shakspeare in Encycl. Brit. XX. 170/2 Mr. Nahum Tate:—This poor grub of literature.

a1896 G. Du Maurier Martian (1897) 379 Clubs have a way of blackballing grubs—especially grubs that are out of the common grubby.

†c. Perhaps: a money-grubber. Obsolete. [Compare Dutch dialect (Gelderland) grobbe in the same sense.]

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [noun] > one who wants or acquires money > specific desirously or avariciously

pick-penny1440

scraper1561

grubber1578

coin-cormorant1594

purse-leech1605

purse-emptier1611

pouch-penny1629

purse-sucker1671

gruba1681

money-grub1768

money-grubber1825

scratch-penny1835

get-rich-quicker1914

a1681 J. Lacy Sauny the Scott iv. (1698) 31 'Tis the Old Grub, Woodall. What shall we do with him?

d. dialect. A small dirty child.

ΚΠ

1838 T. Hood Rise at Father of Angling in Comic Ann. 131 The Cook's a hasher—nothing more—The Children noisy grubs.

1888 B. Lowsley Gloss. Berks. Words & Phrases (at cited word) A dirty little child is called ‘a young grub’.

e. U.S. A hard-reading student.

ΚΠ

1847 D. A. Wells & S. H. Davis Sketches Williams Coll. 76 A man must not be ashamed to be called a ‘grub’ in college, if he would shine in the world.

1851 B. H. Hall Coll. College Words Grub, a hard student. Williams College.

†3.

a. (See quot. 1706 and cf. maggot n.¹ 2.) Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > a caprice or whim

fantasya1450

wantonness1531

humour1533

worm?a1534

will1542

toy?1545

whey-worm1548

wild worm1548

freak1563

crotchet1573

fancy1579

whim-wham1580

whirligig1589

caper1592

megrim1593

spleen1594

kicksey-winsey1599

fegary1600

humorousness1604

curiosity1605

conundrum1607

whimsy1607

windmill1612

buzza1616

capriccioa1616

quirka1616

flama1625

maggota1625

fantasticality1631

capruch1634

gimcrack1639

whimseycado1654

caprich1656

excursion1662

frisk1665

caprice1673

fita1680

grub1681

fantasque1697

whim1697

frolic1711

flight1717

whigmaleery1730

vagary1753

maddock1787

kink1803

fizgig1824

fad1834

whimmery1837

fantod1839

brain crack1853

whimsy-whamsy1871

tic1896

tick1900

1681 Heraclitus Ridens 15 Nov. 2/2 I thought my Song might have removed your Grubs; but I see some marks still of melancholly upon you.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Grub,..a capricious Humour or Whimsey.

b. to ride grub (also be up a grub) (dialect): to be sulky or bad-tempered. Cf. grubby adj. 4.

ΚΠ

1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (at cited word) To ride grub, to be sullen or out of temper.

1847–78 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words (at cited word) The grubs bite him hard, i.e. he is sulky. East.]

a1855 W. T. Spurdens Forby's Vocab. E. Anglia (1858) III. 20 ‘To be up a grub’, ‘to ride grub’, is to be out of temper, morose.

4. (See quots.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > eruption > [noun] > spot of > pimple

pimplea1398

plouk?c1425

whealc1440

knoll1499

red spota1500

knop1558

blob1597

bumb1598

pumple1601

burl1607

pimple spot1658

tiler1660

pipjenny1670

papula1694

grub1731

papilla1793

papule1828

maculopapule1900

hickey1934

zit1965

1731 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Grubbs..a kind of white, unctuous, little pimples or tumours, rising on the face, chiefly on the Alæ of the nose.

1833 J. Forbes et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. I. 27/2 They [pimples of acne follicularis] are commonly known by the name of..grubs.

5. Cricket. A ball bowled along the ground.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > types of delivery or ball

full toss1826

long hop1830

twister1832

bail ball1833

bailer1833

grubber1837

slow ball1838

wide1838

ground ball1839

shooter1843

slower ball1846

twiddler1847

creeper1848

lob1851

sneak1851

sneaker1851

slow1854

bumper1855

teaser1856

daisy-cutter1857

popper1857

yorker1861

sharpshooter1863

headball1866

screwball1866

underhand1866

skimmerc1868

grub1870

ramrod1870

raymonder1870

round-armer1871

grass cutter1876

short pitch1877

leg break1878

lob ball1880

off-break1883

donkey-drop1888

tice1888

fast break1889

leg-breaker1892

kicker1894

spinner1895

wrong 'un1897

googly1903

fizzer1904

dolly1906

short ball1911

wrong 'un1911

bosie1912

bouncer1913

flyer1913

percher1913

finger-spinner1920

inswinger1920

outswinger1920

swinger1920

off-spinner1924

away swinger1925

Chinaman1929

overspinner1930

tweaker1938

riser1944

leg-cutter1949

seamer1952

leggy1954

off-cutter1955

squatter1955

flipper1959

lifter1959

cutter1960

beamer1961

loosener1962

doosra1999

1870 Baily's Monthly Mag. Aug. 355 Nor did we ever before see a species of underhand bowling, known to schoolboys as ‘grubs’, made use of in the crack match of the year.

1882 C. F. Pardon Australians in Eng. 92 The latter bowls left-handed ‘grubs’ of the most pronounced description.

1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life I. 63 We had a private who could bowl fast left-hand grubs.

1896 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 581 Abe Hollo well bowled really good grubs on occasion.

6. slang.

a. Food or provender of any kind. Colloquial phrases.: grub up!, the food is ready; time to eat!; lovely grub, good food; also transferred.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > [noun]

meateOE

eatOE

foodOE

fodderOE

dietc1230

gista1290

victual1303

victualsa1375

preya1382

feedinga1398

pasturea1398

viancea1400

viandsc1400

livingc1405

meatingc1425

vitalyc1440

vianda1450

cates1461

vivers1536

viandry1542

viander1543

gut-matter1549

peck1567

belly-cheer1579

appast1580

manchet1583

chat1584

belly-metal1590

repasture1598

cibaries1599

belly-timber1607

belly-cheat1608

peckage1610

victuallage1622

keeping1644

vivresa1650

crib1652

prog1655

grub1659

beef1661

fooding1663

teething1673

eatablea1687

sunket1686

yam1788

chow-chow1795

keep1801

feed1818

grubbing1819

patter1824

ninyam1826

nyam1828

grubbery1831

tack1834

kai1845

mungaree1846

scoff1846

foodstuff1847

chuck1850

muckamuck1852

tuck1857

tucker1858

hash1865

nosh1873

jock1879

cake flour1881

chow1886

nosebag1888

stodge1890

food aid1900

tackle1900

munga1907

scarf1932

grubber1959

the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [noun] > good or palatable food

yum-yum1889

lovely grub1953

nummies1987

the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [interjection]

coming up1908

grub up!1957

1659 Anc. Poems, Ball., etc. (Percy Soc.) 22 Let's joyne together; I'le pass my word this night Shall yield us grub, before the morning light.

1691 Polit. Ballads (1860) II. 20 This weasel..to get him some grub,..and a little good bub.

1781 G. Parker View Society & Manners I. xxii. 171 How did you procure your Grub and Bub?

1813 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 68 The boys..finished the evening with some prime grub, swizzle, and singing.

1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. i. 9 How you'll relish your grub by-and-bye!

1880 E. Fitzgerald Lett. (1889) I. 456 I and my Reader Boy were going into the Pantry for some grub.

1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms II. iii. 35 We had brought some grub with us and a bottle of grog.

1953 ‘R. Gordon’ Doctor at Sea xiv. 165 All the way down—Miss, Miss, Miss. Lovely grub!

1957 E. Taylor Angel v. i. 220 We're here, madam. Grub up!

1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ix. 161 Cries of jubilation include..Lovely grub!

b. A feed.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun]

mealeOE

meatshiplOE

meal of meatc1330

meal's meatc1330

refectiona1425

eating1483

mealtide1485

repasc1485

sustenancea1500

breakfast1526

repast1530

recreation1538

cooking1804

eat1844

scoff1846

grub1857

khana1859

meetsuk1896

nosh1964

trough1981

1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. vii. 172 Twice as good a grub as we should have got in the hall.

7. U.S. A root left in the ground after clearing.

ΚΠ

1788 G. Washington Diary 20 Feb. (1925) III. 306 At Muddy hole they were..taking up grubs in the Winter fallow of No. 4.

1825 J. Lorain Nature in Pract. Husb. 334 The Yankee farmer first chops the fallen timber, then scalps off the grubs level with the ground.

1839 C. M. Kirkland New Home xx. 133 Grubs are, in western parlance, the gnarled roots of small trees and shrubs.

1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Grubber, a machine or tool to pull grubs; that is, stumps and roots of bushes, saplings, and small trees.

1888 Sci. Amer. 21 Apr. 247 The John Cornelius Grub and Stump Puller.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

a. (In sense 1.)

grub-destroyer n.

ΚΠ

1894 R. B. Sharpe Hand-bk. Birds Great Brit. (1896) I. 26 Its [the starling's] good deeds as a grub-destroyer are apt to be forgotten.

grub-destroying n.

ΚΠ

1864 J. C. Atkinson Stanton Grange 78 Anybody would have mentioned the sparrow as a worker at grub~destroying.

grub-hunter n.

ΚΠ

1797 J. Wolcot Ode to Sir J. Banks in Wks. (1812) III. 459 The King of Men May make the Knight a grub-hunter agen And bid him mind his butterflies and hammer.

grub-hunting n.

ΚΠ

1870 J. R. Lowell Among my Bks. (1873) 1st Ser. 320 The regular occupation of grub-hunting is as tame and wearisome as another.

grub-skin n.

ΚΠ

1849 J. C. Hare Serm. Preacht Herstmonceux Church II. 76 You are not to..furl up your wings, and wrap yourself up in your cast-off grub-skin.

b. (In sense 6.)

grub-box n.

ΚΠ

1887 J. Farrell How he Died 68 There's not much in the grub-box, but I've never turned a man off without a feed.

grub-shop n.

ΚΠ

1840 W. M. Thackeray Barber Cox in Comic Almanack 25 ‘That's the grub-shop,’ said my lord, ‘where we young gentlemen wot has money buys our wittles, and them young gentlemen wot has none, goes tick.’

grub-wagon n.

ΚΠ

1891 Fur, Fin & Feather Mar. 150 They take with them a grub wagon and ten saddle horses, and expect to be absent four months.

1920 J. M. Hunter Trail Drivers of Texas I. 69 We were two miles from the grub wagon.

C2.

grub-kick n. Rugby = grubber n. Compounds; hence as v. intransitive.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > types of kick or ball

drop1845

drop-kick1857

punt-out1861

free kick1862

poster1862

goal kick1870

dropout1882

touch kick1887

touch-finder1898

fly-kick1906

grubber kick1950

grub-kick1951

tap-kick1960

up and under1960

chip kick1965

Garryowen1965

box kick1972

chip and chase1976

1951 Rugger Dec. 5 He uses the grub kick so much favoured by Northern Union players.

1959 Times 6 Mar. 16/2 Elliot and Patterson engineered a try at the posts for the latter from a grub kick by Horrocks-Taylor.

1960 Times 4 Jan. 4/3 Tolson grub-kicked ahead.

Categories »

grub-plank n. U.S. ‘refuse plank used in fastening together the parts of a lumber-raft’ ( Cent. Dict.).

grub-screw n. a screw without a head but with a recess at one end to receive a screwdriver or key.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > screw > other types of screw

wrench1552

needle screw1663

female screw1667

stop-screw1680

male screw1682

wood-screw1733

right and left handed screw1738

screw eye1787

claw-screw1795

screw shaft1818

union joint1819

union screw1820

right-and-left screw1821

binding-screw1828

coach screw1874

lag bolt1893

grub-screw1903

Allen screw1910

multithread1921

self-tapper1949

1903 Jrnl. Inst. Electr. Engineers 32 384 It is..becoming quite common..to fasten the armature connection to the commutator segment by means of steel grub screws.

1930 Engineering 26 Dec. 815/2 The terminals..are fixed by a grub screw.

grub-stake n. U.S. Mining slang ‘the outfit, provisions, etc. furnished to a prospector on condition of participating in the profits of any find he may make; a lay-out’ ( Cent. Dict.); also transferred.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > prospecting > money, etc., given to prospector

grub-stake1863

1863 H. Edgar Jrnl. 27 May in Contrib. Hist. Soc. Montana (1900) III. 138 ‘A grub stake is what we are after’ was our watchword all day, and it is one hundred and fifty dollars in good dust.

1885 H. Butterworth Zigzag Journeys Western States 309 What is roughly termed a ‘grub stake’.

1895 Forum (N.Y.) June 475 The prospector with his led horse, loaded with grub~stake, blankets, pick, and pan.

1932 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 322/1 The farmer realizes the..plight of the out-of-work who..is left without a grub~stake between himself and hunger.

1948 V. Palmer Golconda ii. 10 We'd been out for six months on a grubstake from the store here, looking for mica.

1957 Times 12 Nov. (Canada Suppl.) p. xi/4 The prospector can no longer look forward to making his fortune with a ‘grubstake’ of a few hundred dollars.

1968 R. M. Patterson Finlay's River 96 On the Ingenika itself three prospectors were making at least a good grubstake: they finally took out seventy ounces of gold.

grub-stake v. transitive to furnish with grub-stake; also transferred.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply (something) [verb (transitive)] > provide means of support for

findc1225

sustainc1300

found1377

keep1377

maintainc1405

sustent?a1425

support1493

uphold1546

subsist1547

escota1616

fend1637

aliment1660

run1871

grub-stake1879

1879 Chicago Tribune 15 May 9/6 Judge Pendery, a former Congressman, politician, and lawyer, has been grubstaking a party of miners who were digging a shaft down near the base of the hill.

1890 A. C. Gunter Miss Nobody ix. 100 He grub-staked us and we used to work on the Tillie mine together.

1919 W. A. Fraser Bulldog Carney 38 I'm goin' to grubstake you,..leave you rations for three days.

1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 358/1 Grub-stake, to give (an author) money to keep him going while he writes a book.

1947 L. Hastings Dragons are Extra i. 30 Grub-staked by some optimistic colleague in town, they could be found at every wayside pub.

1959 Economist 21 Mar. 1073/2 For over seven years, from 1951, soon after the Korean outbreak, until mid-1958, the federal government in effect ‘grubstaked’ owners of promising deposits of strategic minerals.

1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai x. 176 A..dentist whose son Ian..had been grubstaked to Wembley hors concours.

grub-staker n. a prospector who is supplied with a grub-stake, or the supplier of a grub-stake.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > prospector > type of

garimpeiro1812

pocket hunter1872

pocket miner1872

brine-smeller1878

grub-staker1880

sourdough1898

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > prospector > one who furnishes prospector with provisions

grub-staker1880

1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado (1881) vii. 107 Here does the whilom grub~staker and present millionaire purchase his corner lot.

1897 A. C. Harris Alaska & Klondike Gold Fields 444 A grub-staker is a man who wants someone to stake him with grub, and ‘grub’ is Klondike for beans, bacon and tea.

1898 J. Grinnell Gold Hunting in Alaska (1901) xii. 45 We may have to foot it home just like..prodigal sons who have wasted their substance and that of our grub~stakers in ‘riotous living’.

1926 Glasgow Herald 8 Mar. 10 But the grub-staker who is financed by some wealthy man and will share his discoveries with his backer, is in the fortunate position of having enough money to avoid the dangerous trail.

1969 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 27 Nov. 9/4 The telegram recalled the chamber had recommended..that the prospector and grubstaker tax exemption be maintained in its present form.

grub-worm n. = sense 1 (also contemptuous).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > held in contempt

thingOE

cat?c1225

geggea1300

fox-whelpc1320

creaturea1325

whelp1338

scoutc1380

turnbroach14..

foumart1508

shit1508

get?a1513

strummel?a1513

scofting?1518

pismirea1535

clinchpoop1555

rag1566

huddle and twang1578

whipster1590

slop1599

shullocka1603

tailor1607

turnspit1607

fitchewa1616

bulchin1617

trundle-taila1626

tick1631

louse1633

fart1669

insect1684

mully-grub-gurgeon1746

grub-worm1752

rass1790

foutre1794

blister1806

snot1809

skin1825

scurf1851

scut1873

Siwash1882

stiff1882

bleeder1887

blighter1896

sugar1916

vuilgoed1924

klunk1942

fart sack1943

fart-arse1946

jerkwad1980

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > low or vulgar person > [noun]

gadlinga1300

geggea1300

churlc1300

filec1300

jot1362

scoutc1380

beggara1400

carla1400

turnbroach14..

villainc1400

gnoffc1405

fellowc1425

cavelc1430

haskardc1487

hastardc1489

foumart1508

strummel?a1513

knapper1513

hogshead?1518

jockeya1529

dreng1535

sneakbill1546

Jack1548

rag1566

scald1575

huddle and twang1578

sneaksby1580

companion1581

lowling1581

besognier1584

patchcock1596

grill1597

sneaksbill1602

scum1607

turnspit1607

cocoloch1610

compeer1612

dust-worm1621

besonioa1625

world-worma1625

besognea1652

gippo1651

Jacky1653

mechanic1699

fustya1732

grub-worm1752

raff1778

person1782

rough scuff1816

spalpeen1817

bum1825

sculpin1834

soap-lock1840

tinka1843

'Arry1874

scruff1896

scruffo1959

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > larva

niteOE

wormOE

grubc1420

canker1440

caterpillarc1440

cankerworm1530

mad1573

bug1594

blote1657

vermicle1657

hexapod1668

grub-worm1752

truffle-worm1753

larva1768

larve1822

1752 C. Smart Hilliad i. 115 Moths, mites, and maggots, fleas (a numerous crew), And gnats and grub-worms crowded on his view.

1807 Salmagundi 18 Apr. 156 Giblet was as arrant a grub-worm as ever crawled.

1849 C. Brontë Shirley I. v. 100 My grub-worm is always a straitened, struggling, careworn tradesman.

1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xlv. 14 Grubworm, the larva of the Green June Beetle.

Derivatives

grubbed adj. infested with grubs.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > disease or injury > [adjective] > of or having disease caused by insect

cankeredc1522

cankerous1613

cankery1681

scabbed1693

grubbed1843

sedged1844

phylloxerated1879

phylloxerized1881

root-knot1888

stem-sick1890

scaly1894

1843 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 4 i. 125 When turnips have what is termed a ‘grubbed’ appearance, it has been attributed to the larvæ of these little beetles.

1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 592 Every loose turf clod on a grubbed field of oats.

grubbing n.² infestation by grubs.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > caused by insects

canker1555

grubbing1844

oyster shell scale1877

aphis-blight1882

big bud1884

blackfly1884

fly-blight1887

scale-blight1898

parasitization1909

1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 591 They [the grub larvæ] attack different kinds of corn, especially oats, the effects of grubbing in which are well known to every farmer.

grub-like adj.

ΚΠ

1822 J. M. Good Study Med. II. 292 A grub-like concretion of mucus.

1874 J. Lubbock Orig. & Metamorphoses Insects i. 18 Apod grub-like larvae.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† grubadj.

Origin: Probably formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: grub n.

Etymology: Probably < grub n. Compare grubby adj. 3, which is apparently first attested later.

Obsolete. rare.

= grubby adj. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > [adjective] > dirty and mean

ungoderlyc1400

sluttish?1529

squalid1596

scrubbing1603

sordid1611

snotty1681

frowzy1710

grub1719

seedy1725

unkempt1838

grubby1844

crumby1859

ratty1867

scruffy1871

scrutty1914

scummy1932

ribby1936

raunchy1937

sleazy1941

scroungy1948

manky1958

skanky1963

grungy1965

scungy1966

scuzzy1969

scrungy1974

skeevy1976

1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth II. 315 The Taylor with grub Beard and Crimson Nose.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online September 2021).

grubv.

Brit.

/ɡrʌb/, U.S.

/ɡrəb/

Forms: (Middle English groube), Middle English grobbe, Middle English–1500s grube, grubbe, 1500s– grub.

Etymology: Perhaps representing Old English *grybban < prehistoric *grubbjan , < Old Germanic *gruƀ- ablaut-variant of *graƀ- to dig, grave v.¹; compare Old Norse gryfja weak feminine pit, hole, Old High German grubilôn to dig, search (modern German grübeln to pursue over-subtle meditations), Middle Dutch grobben (once) to scrape together (money), Dutch grobbelen to root, feel about for something. For the phonology compare stub representing Old English stybb, shrub representing Old English scrybb.

1. transitive. To dig superficially; to break up the surface of (the ground); to clear (ground) of roots and stumps. Also with up. Said occasionally of animals ‘rooting’.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (transitive)] > dig (hole, etc.) > dig or break up (ground)

delvec888

dig1382

gruba1400

stubc1450

cast1497

sheugh1513

to search upc1540

stock1802

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (transitive)] > dig > superficially

gruba1400

spuddle1805

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6747 Theif hus brecand, or gruband grund.

1572 Lament Lady Scot. in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 251 Ze suld your ground grube with simplicitie.

1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. xiii. 635 As the ground the more it is crumbled, broken and deepely remooved or grubbed vp, becommeth so much more fertile.

1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xxxi. 122 These serve to manure grounds that are newly grubb'd.

1698 tr. F. Froger Relation Voy. Coasts Afr. 126 Since the Island has been grubbed up, they have begun to grow more healthy.

1786 R. Burns Poems 235 Whether thy soul Soars fancy's flights beyond the pole, Or darkling grubs this earthly hole.

1803 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population (new ed.) i. vi. 82 Vast tracts of land lay in their original uncultivated state, having never been grubbed up or cleared.

1827 J. Montgomery Pelican Island vi. 275 Like the swine That grubb'd the turf.

1840 R. H. Barham Spectre of Tappington in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 7 Some workmen employed in grubbing an old plantation.

1869 L. A. Meredith Tasmanian Mem. 10 A bit of land all grubbed and clear'd too.

1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz in La Saisiaz: Two Poets of Croisic 11 Batz whose Saxons grub The ground for crystals.

†2. To dig round the roots of (a plant). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (transitive)] > dig > dig round plant

milge?1440

umbedelvec1440

grub1513

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xiii. ix. 76 Saturne..Tawcht thame to grub the wines,..and saw the cornys, and ȝok the cart.

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxx^v Se nowe howe seuen yere passed & more, haue I graffed and groubed a vyne, and with al the wayes that I coude I sought to a fed me of the grape.

a. To dig up by the roots, to root up, uproot: esp. with up, less commonly out. Also transferred and figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > root out or up

louka1000

morec1325

roota1387

unroot?a1425

stubc1450

roota1500

rid?1529

root-walt?1530

subplant1547

supplant1549

root?1550

grub1558

eradicate1564

to stump up1599

deracinate1609

uproot1695

aberuncate1731

eracinate1739

rootle1795

disroot1800

piggle1847

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > reclaim [verb (transitive)] > clear land > remove roots

stockc1440

stock1458

extirp1490

displanta1492

supplant1549

stub1555

grub1558

to stump up1599

averruncate1623

extirpate1651

stump1791

1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos ii. sig. E.iiij Like as on the mountayn top, some auncient oke to fall The plowmen with their axes strong do striue, and twibles tall To grubbe, and round about hath hewd.

1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes xviii. f. cix Wyth good hope of pardon, the roote of Desperation beyng cleane grubbed oute.

1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxx. xi. 394 Papyrius chaunced to espie a shrub hard by, and caused it to be grubbed up.

1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. i. 23 The fruite she goes with I pray for heartily..but for the Stocke..I wish it grubb'd vp now.

1640 J. Shirley St. Patrick iv. sig. H We will redeeme our rashnesse, By grubbing up these Christians, that begin To infect us, and our kingdome.

1659 T. Burton Diary (1828) III. 321 Commonwealth was a good title, but grubbed up by the title of Chief Magistrate.

1664 J. Evelyn Sylva (1679) iii. §13. 23 The very stumps of Oak, especially that part which is dry,..being well grubb'd, is many times worth the pains and charge, for sundry rare, and hard works.

a1697 J. Aubrey Nat. Hist. Surrey (1718) III. 328 A kind of Stony Coal..he found by grubbing up the Roots of an old Oak.

1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth II. 165 A Country Bumpkin that Trees did grub.

1807 E. S. Barrett Rising Sun II. 86 To lay the axe to the root of decency, and to grub up morality.

1819 G. Crabbe Tales of Hall I. iv. 64 Look at that land—you find not there a weed, We grub the roots, and suffer none to seed.

1831 T. B. Macaulay Hampden in Ess. (1889) 203 The mutilated defenders of liberty..manfully presented the stumps of their ears to be grubbed out by the hangman's knife.

1881 C. Whitehead Hops 8 Modern hop-planters have remorselessly grubbed the male plants.

1888 J. Inglis Tent Life Tigerland 140 Jungles..in which the huge grey tusker grunts suspiciously as he grubs up his meal of roots.

†b. To pluck out (hair) by the roots. Also absol.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > pluck out

grubc1320

pullc1390

decerp1531

excerpta1552

decerpta1631

pluck1893

c1320 tr. J. Bonaventura Medit. 972 My body y ȝave to men smytyng And also my chekes to men grubbyng.

1633 T. Adams Comm. 2 Peter (i. 16) 290 Yet I would not have men..to grub their beards, yea, their very chins.

4. With up, out: To extract by digging. Also transferred and figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > reclaim [verb (transitive)] > clear land

redeeOE

ridlOE

grubc1374

stub1464

clot1483

shrub1553

clear1634

cure1719

stump1796

spade1819

slash1821

underbrush1824

to clean up1839

underbush1886

screef1913

the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > dig out or up

delvec1000

upgravea1340

undelve1340

grubc1374

to dig upc1400

to dig outa1425

unearthc1450

sprittle1585

effode1657

to cast up1660

exhume1783

moot1823

excavate1848

lift1883

spud1886

pig-root1890

c1374 G. Chaucer Former Age 29 To grobbe vp metal lurkynge in dirkenesse.

1840 W. Cobbett Advt. French Gram. I had learnt French without a master. I had grubbed it out, bit by bit.

1842 J. L. Motley Let. 17 Feb. in Corr. (1889) I. iv. 102 I..began grubbing up the antiquities.

1842 S. Lover Handy Andy i. 16 He pulled forth his hand which had been grubbing up his prizes from the bottom of his pocket.

†5. ? To ‘dig’ (something) into a surface. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > insertion or putting in > insert or put in [verb (transitive)] > forcibly

thrustc1175

quevena1400

stopc1480

ingyre1513

ram1519

dig1553

intrude1563

purr1574

spring1597

grub1607

inject1611

ingest1617

sock1843

to dig in1885

1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster West-ward Hoe ii. i. sig. B4^v Iusti. She leanes somewhat too hard vppon her pen yet..Hony. Then she grubs her pen. Iusti. Its but my paines to mend the neb agen.

a. intransitive. To dig. In later use, connoting the idea of mean or grovellingly laborious occupation.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (intransitive)] > dig or excavate

gravea1000

delvec1000

wrootc1325

minec1330

gruba1350

sinkc1358

undermine1382

diga1387

spit1393

to pick upc1400

holk1513

graff1532

pion1643

excavate1843

throw1843

crow1853

spade1869

society > occupation and work > working > [verb (intransitive)] > work in other specific ways or conditions

dead horse1640

grub1798

subcontract1827

chare1828

slut1829

to take up one's livery1839

hat1868

to work on tribute1869

freelance1904

work1920

nine-to-five1962

job-share1978

telework1983

a1350 Finding Cross 267 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 60 Fast grubed þai þore obout; So depe þai grubbed & so fast, Thre crosses fand þai at þe last.

c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 208 Crist, gardener of þis vineȝerde, grubbide inne and dongide it.

c1400 Siege Jerusalem (1932) 64/1108 With mynours & masouns; myne þey bygonne, Grobben faste vndir þe grounde.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 217/1 Grubbyn' yn the erthe, fodico.

c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) iii. 114 Thai be arted bi necessite so to wacch, labour, and grubbe in the ground for thair sustenaunce, that their nature is much wastid.

1798 T. J. Mathias Pursuits of Lit.: Pt. IV (ed. 7) 256 I look for no pasture in the fields of Ministers or of Booksellers: nor would I be turned out..to grub and delve in Mr. Pitt's Straw-yard.

1800 A. Addison Rep. Cases Pennsylvania 294 M^cInnes sent a man to this place who grubbed a week.

1864 M. Gatty Parables 4th Ser. 6 Many were the hours he had spent..grubbing in the old black soil.

1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xv. 137 I met plenty of people, grubbing in little miserable fields.

b. transferred. Of animals: To root, search for something in the earth, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (intransitive)] > grub or root about in the earth

nuzzle1530

grub1647

rootle1803

grubble1867

1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (Mark ix. 46) Having worms ever grubbing and gnawing upon the entrails.

1845 A. Smith Fortunes Scattergood Fam. III. ii. 18 [He] was..making the animal crawl upon its knees after him, with its nose grubbing in the sawdust.

1862 C. M. Yonge Countess Kate ix. 160 A hole that looked as if an old hen had been grubbing in it.

1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling iii. 63 The carp..might be seen rolling and grubbing all around the hook.

7. transferred and figurative. To search in an undignified, abject, or grovelling manner; to rummage.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > poke about or grub

prog1579

rout1711

grub1800

ratch1801

root1831

fossick1853

rootle1854

scrounge1909

roust1919

1800 P. Colquhoun Treat. Commerce & Police R. Thames ii. 67 These miserable beings..grub in the River at low water for old Ropes, Metals, &c.

1837 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 97 Coleoptera are more scarce, as I cannot grub for them myself for fear of centipedes.

1850 R. W. Emerson Swedenborg in Representative Men iii. 101 Such a boy..goes grubbing into mines and mountains,..to find images fit for..his versatile..brain.

1855 E. Forbes Lit. Papers xi. 280 [They] were too absorbed in the delights of their own peculiar pursuits to think of grubbing for lucre.

1884 A. Lang in Cent. Mag. Jan. 325/2 Grubbing among Roman remains and relics.

1886 W. H. Mallock Old Order Changes II. 50 Meanwhile, however, he had been grubbing about in his bag.

1895 C. R. B. Barrett Surrey ii. 58 Grubbing about in the oldest..part of the building, I found..four pieces of Norman..moulding.

8. Chiefly with on, along, away: To lead a meanly plodding or grovelling existence; to live laboriously or ploddingly, to toil, ‘fag’.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > exert oneself or make an effort [verb (intransitive)] > toil > steadily or dully

plod1562

to tug at the (an) oar1612

plot1621

grub1735

grind1855

plough1891

stodge1912

1735 W. Pardon Dyche's New Gen. Eng. Dict. Grub..to go on in a mean, servile, covetous, nasty Way or Manner of Living.

1766 C. Anstey New Bath Guide viii. i. 50 We may grub on without it thro' Life, I suppose.

1809 Mrs. Mitford in L'Estrange Friendships Miss M. (1882) I. Introd. 18 I must grub away all the evening to get it accomplished.

1853 C. Dickens Bleak House v. 37 We both grub on in a muddle.

1862 G. Meredith Juggling Jerry in Mod. Love x I, lass, have lived no gipsy, flaunting Finery, while his poor help~mate grubs.

1868 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 401 I was grubbing away at an article for the North American.

1894 ‘J. S. Winter’ Red Coats 10 This sort of thing isn't living—it's only grubbing along from day to day.

1895 W. Rye Gloss. Words E. Anglia Grub, to pick up a living in mean, haphazard ways.

9. [? < grub n.] slang.

a. To take ‘grub’ or food; to feed, eat. Also to grub it.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eat [verb (intransitive)]

eatc825

to break breadeOE

baitc1386

feeda1387

to take one's repast?1490

to take repast1517

repast1520

peck?1536

diet1566

meat1573

victual1577

graze1579

manger1609

to craw it1708

grub1725

scoff1798

browse1818

provender1819

muckamuck1853

to put on the nosebag1874

refect1882

restaurate1882

nosh1892

tucker1903

to muck in1919

scarf1960

snack1972

1725 New Canting Dict. Grub,..to Eat, to Dine, &c.

1839 B. Disraeli Corr. with Sister (1886) 121 I found some twenty~five gentlemen grubbing in solemn silence.

1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxiv. 588 Come away into the supper-room..seeing these nobs grubbing away has made me peckish too.

1893 R. Kipling Many Inventions 32 I was grubbing on fowls and boiled corn.

b. transitive. To provide with ‘grub’ or food. slang.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > supply with provisions

victualc1380

meat1568

provant1599

provision1604

catera1616

bread1797

grub1819

ration1834

vegetate1846

tucker1899

feed1904

1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. (at cited word) To grub a person, is to diet him, or find him in victuals.

1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xxii. 225 The red-nosed man warn't by no means the sort of person you'd like to grub by contract.

1883 Daily Tel. 18 May 3/1 They are not bound to grub you.

10. Cock-fighters' slang. (See quot. 1706.)

ΚΠ

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Grubbing a Cock, a cutting off the Cock's Feathers under the Wings.

Compounds

The verb-stem used attributively.

grub-axe n. (corruptly †grubbage) an implement used in grubbing up roots, stumps, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > uprooting tool

meak1478

pease-meak1583

grubber1598

grub-axe1611

dog1727

pea-make1794

hop-dog1796

eradicator1807

stub-dig1837

stub-hoe1858

grub-hoea1884

grub-hook1884

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Aigre, a kind of Grub-axe, or instrument wherewith roots, and shrubs are plucked up.

1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ 271 Grubbage, see Mattock.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Grubbage or Grub-ax, a Tool to grub up Roots of Trees, Weeds, etc.

1878 R. Jefferies Gamekeeper at Home iv. 72 Strong spades and grub-axes for rooting out a lost ferret.

grub-hoe n. = grub-axe n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > uprooting tool

meak1478

pease-meak1583

grubber1598

grub-axe1611

dog1727

pea-make1794

hop-dog1796

eradicator1807

stub-dig1837

stub-hoe1858

grub-hoea1884

grub-hook1884

a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 428/1 Grub Hoe, Grub Hook.

grub-hook n. = grub-axe n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > uprooting tool

meak1478

pease-meak1583

grubber1598

grub-axe1611

dog1727

pea-make1794

hop-dog1796

eradicator1807

stub-dig1837

stub-hoe1858

grub-hoea1884

grub-hook1884

1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 428/1 Grub Hook.

grub-fell v. (transitive) to bring down (a tree) by cutting at the root.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [verb (transitive)] > cut tree near roots

stub1594

grub-fell1787

1787 W. Marshall Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Norfolk II. 381 Grub-felling, the common method of taking down timber-trees.

1894 Times 11 Sept. 16/7 Every tree should be ‘grub-felled’—that is, taken up by the roots.

grub-saw n. a hand-saw used for sawing marble slabs into strips.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > saw > [noun] > for cutting stone

stone-saw1843

grub-saw1853

1853 O. Byrne Handbk. Artisan 92 The cutting is effected with smaller blades, called grub-saws.

Derivatives

grubbed adj.

ΚΠ

1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village (1863) II. 414 The excellent double hedge-row of grubbed wood.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

> see also

also refers to : Grub-comb. form

n.a1400

adj.1719

v.c1320

单词	grub
释义	grubn. Brit. /ɡrʌb/, U.S. /ɡrəb/ Forms: Middle English grobbe, grubbe, 1600s grubb, 1500s– grub. Etymology: ? < grub v. 1. The larva of an insect, esp. of a beetle; a caterpillar, maggot; (also, now dialect) a worm. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > division Vermes > [noun] > member of (worm) grubc1420 lumbricc1440 helminth1852 naid1886 naidid1931 the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > larva niteOE wormOE grubc1420 canker1440 caterpillarc1440 cankerworm1530 mad1573 bug1594 blote1657 vermicle1657 hexapod1668 grub-worm1752 truffle-worm1753 larva1768 larve1822 c1420 Pallad. on Husb. vii. 63 Benys..vpplucked sone, maad clene, and sette vp wel refrigerate, ffrom grobbis saaf wol kepe vp their estate. 1486 Bk. St. Albans A iv If the frounce be wex as greete as a note Than ther is a grubbe ther in. ?a1500 Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.) vii. 227 The dirte is so deepe..and the grubbs thereon doe creepe. 1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. iii. 126 What torch is yond that vainly lends his light To grubs and eyelesse sculles. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iv. 11 There is differency between a Grub & a Butterfly, yet your Butterfly was a Grub. View more context for this quotation a1657 G. Daniel Idyllia in Poems (1878) IV. iii. 169 The World's an Ant-hill, and the little Grubbs Stocke themselves warme. 1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 28 That Spumeous froth or dew which..we call Cuckow-Spittle,..in which you shall always find a little Grub, or Animal. 1669 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 4 914 He affirms, that Timber-trees fell'd, when the wind is in the West,..will keep them free from grubs, (as they call it) i.e. from being worm-eaten. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 204/1 The Grub is a general term for the smaller worms that breed in the Earth. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VIII. 63 The history of grubs changing into their corresponding winged animals. 1785 W. Cowper Task v. 90 The very rooks and daws forsake the fields, Where neither grub, nor root, nor earth~nut, now Repays their labour more. 1800 C. Marshall Introd. Knowl. & Pract. Gardening (ed. 3) xv. 227 Winter lettuces..in the open ground are often destroyed by grubs lurking about the roots. 1859 R. Thompson Gardener's Assistant 571 The grub of another insect (Byturus tomentosus) is very frequently found in the fruit. 1883 Encycl. Amer. I. 138/2 The White Grub (Lachnosterna fusca Froh.)..is the larva of the well~known ‘May-bug’ or ‘June-bug’. 1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire Grub, any kind of worm except the largest. figurative.1837 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Bacon in Ess. (1880) 356 He was now in a chrysalis state, putting off the worm and putting on the dragon-fly, a kind of intermediate grub between sycophant and oppressor.1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xl. 165 He..knelt down a grub, and rose a butterfly. John Chester Esquire was knighted and became Sir John. 2. contemptuous. †a. A short, dwarfish fellow. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily height > shortness > [noun] > person dwarfeOE congeonc1230 go-by-ground?a1300 smalla1300 shrimpc1386 griga1400 gruba1400 murche1440 nirvil1440 mitinga1450 witherling1528 wretchocka1529 elf1530 hop-o'-my-thumb1530 pygmy1533 little person1538 manikin1540 mankin1552 dandiprat1556 yrle1568 grundy1570 Jack Sprat1570 squall1570 manling1573 Tom Thumb1579 pinka1585 squib1586 screaling1594 giant-dwarf1598 twattle1598 agate1600 minimus1600 cock sparrow1602 dapperling1611 modicum1611 scrub1611 sesquipedalian1615 dwarflinga1618 wretchcock1641 homuncio1643 whip-handle1653 homuncule1656 whippersnapper1674 chitterling1675 sprite1684 carliea1689 urling1691 wirling1691 dwarf man1699 poppet1699 durgan1706 short-arse1706 tomtit1706 Lilliputian1726 wallydraigle1736 midge1757 minikin1761 squeeze-crab1785 minimum1796 niff-naff1808 titman1818 teetotum1822 squita1825 cradden1825 nyaff1825 weed1825 pinkeen1850 fingerling1864 Lilliput1867 thumbling1867 midget1869 inch1884 shorty1888 titch1888 skimpling1890 stub1890 scrap1898 pygmoid1922 lofty1933 peewee1935 smidgen1952 pint-size1954 pint-sized1973 munchkin1974 a1400–50 Alexander 1753 And slike a dwinyng, a dwaȝe, & a dwerȝe as þi-selfe, A grub [Dubl. MS. grob], a grege out of grace. 1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 63 Iohn Romane, a short clownish grub, would beare the whole carkase of an Oxe, and yet neuer tugged with him. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Rabougri,..a grub, counterfeit, short or short-necked crooke-backe. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Grub, a Dwarf, or short Fellow. b. A person of mean abilities, a dull industrious drudge, a literary hack; (in later use) a person of slovenly attire and unpleasant manners. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [noun] > tedious or dull person grub1653 noddeea1680 insipid1699 rocker1762 bore1812 Dryasdust1819 insipidity1822 prose1844 bagpipe1850 vampire1862 pill1865 jeff1870 terebrant1890 poop1893 stodger1905 club bore1910 nudnik1916 stodge1922 dreary1925 dreep1927 binder1930 drip1932 douchebag1946 drear1958 drag1959 noodge1968 anorak1984 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. Prol. 6 So saith a Turlupin or a new start-up grub of my books. 1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xxx. 269 This miserable grub [the captain's clerk], who had been an attorney's boy. 1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker II. 15 A dull author generally distinguishes himself by some oddity or extravagance. For this reason, I fancy, that an assembly of Grubs must be very diverting. 1796 M. Robinson Angelina I. 71 Is it not a scandal to humanity that such an illiterate grub as Sir Edward should feed on all the luxuries of life? 1842 T. De Quincey Shakspeare in Encycl. Brit. XX. 170/2 Mr. Nahum Tate:—This poor grub of literature. a1896 G. Du Maurier Martian (1897) 379 Clubs have a way of blackballing grubs—especially grubs that are out of the common grubby. †c. Perhaps: a money-grubber. Obsolete. [Compare Dutch dialect (Gelderland) grobbe in the same sense.] ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [noun] > one who wants or acquires money > specific desirously or avariciously pick-penny1440 scraper1561 grubber1578 coin-cormorant1594 purse-leech1605 purse-emptier1611 pouch-penny1629 purse-sucker1671 gruba1681 money-grub1768 money-grubber1825 scratch-penny1835 get-rich-quicker1914 a1681 J. Lacy Sauny the Scott iv. (1698) 31 'Tis the Old Grub, Woodall. What shall we do with him? d. dialect. A small dirty child. ΚΠ 1838 T. Hood Rise at Father of Angling in Comic Ann. 131 The Cook's a hasher—nothing more—The Children noisy grubs. 1888 B. Lowsley Gloss. Berks. Words & Phrases (at cited word) A dirty little child is called ‘a young grub’. e. U.S. A hard-reading student. ΚΠ 1847 D. A. Wells & S. H. Davis Sketches Williams Coll. 76 A man must not be ashamed to be called a ‘grub’ in college, if he would shine in the world. 1851 B. H. Hall Coll. College Words Grub, a hard student. Williams College. †3. a. (See quot. 1706 and cf. maggot n.¹ 2.) Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > a caprice or whim fantasya1450 wantonness1531 humour1533 worm?a1534 will1542 toy?1545 whey-worm1548 wild worm1548 freak1563 crotchet1573 fancy1579 whim-wham1580 whirligig1589 caper1592 megrim1593 spleen1594 kicksey-winsey1599 fegary1600 humorousness1604 curiosity1605 conundrum1607 whimsy1607 windmill1612 buzza1616 capriccioa1616 quirka1616 flama1625 maggota1625 fantasticality1631 capruch1634 gimcrack1639 whimseycado1654 caprich1656 excursion1662 frisk1665 caprice1673 fita1680 grub1681 fantasque1697 whim1697 frolic1711 flight1717 whigmaleery1730 vagary1753 maddock1787 kink1803 fizgig1824 fad1834 whimmery1837 fantod1839 brain crack1853 whimsy-whamsy1871 tic1896 tick1900 1681 Heraclitus Ridens 15 Nov. 2/2 I thought my Song might have removed your Grubs; but I see some marks still of melancholly upon you. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Grub,..a capricious Humour or Whimsey. b. to ride grub (also be up a grub) (dialect): to be sulky or bad-tempered. Cf. grubby adj. 4. ΚΠ 1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (at cited word) To ride grub, to be sullen or out of temper. 1847–78 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words (at cited word) The grubs bite him hard, i.e. he is sulky. East.] a1855 W. T. Spurdens Forby's Vocab. E. Anglia (1858) III. 20 ‘To be up a grub’, ‘to ride grub’, is to be out of temper, morose. 4. (See quots.) ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > eruption > [noun] > spot of > pimple pimplea1398 plouk?c1425 whealc1440 knoll1499 red spota1500 knop1558 blob1597 bumb1598 pumple1601 burl1607 pimple spot1658 tiler1660 pipjenny1670 papula1694 grub1731 papilla1793 papule1828 maculopapule1900 hickey1934 zit1965 1731 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Grubbs..a kind of white, unctuous, little pimples or tumours, rising on the face, chiefly on the Alæ of the nose. 1833 J. Forbes et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. I. 27/2 They [pimples of acne follicularis] are commonly known by the name of..grubs. 5. Cricket. A ball bowled along the ground. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > types of delivery or ball full toss1826 long hop1830 twister1832 bail ball1833 bailer1833 grubber1837 slow ball1838 wide1838 ground ball1839 shooter1843 slower ball1846 twiddler1847 creeper1848 lob1851 sneak1851 sneaker1851 slow1854 bumper1855 teaser1856 daisy-cutter1857 popper1857 yorker1861 sharpshooter1863 headball1866 screwball1866 underhand1866 skimmerc1868 grub1870 ramrod1870 raymonder1870 round-armer1871 grass cutter1876 short pitch1877 leg break1878 lob ball1880 off-break1883 donkey-drop1888 tice1888 fast break1889 leg-breaker1892 kicker1894 spinner1895 wrong 'un1897 googly1903 fizzer1904 dolly1906 short ball1911 wrong 'un1911 bosie1912 bouncer1913 flyer1913 percher1913 finger-spinner1920 inswinger1920 outswinger1920 swinger1920 off-spinner1924 away swinger1925 Chinaman1929 overspinner1930 tweaker1938 riser1944 leg-cutter1949 seamer1952 leggy1954 off-cutter1955 squatter1955 flipper1959 lifter1959 cutter1960 beamer1961 loosener1962 doosra1999 1870 Baily's Monthly Mag. Aug. 355 Nor did we ever before see a species of underhand bowling, known to schoolboys as ‘grubs’, made use of in the crack match of the year. 1882 C. F. Pardon Australians in Eng. 92 The latter bowls left-handed ‘grubs’ of the most pronounced description. 1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life I. 63 We had a private who could bowl fast left-hand grubs. 1896 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 581 Abe Hollo well bowled really good grubs on occasion. 6. slang. a. Food or provender of any kind. Colloquial phrases.: grub up!, the food is ready; time to eat!; lovely grub, good food; also transferred. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > [noun] meateOE eatOE foodOE fodderOE dietc1230 gista1290 victual1303 victualsa1375 preya1382 feedinga1398 pasturea1398 viancea1400 viandsc1400 livingc1405 meatingc1425 vitalyc1440 vianda1450 cates1461 vivers1536 viandry1542 viander1543 gut-matter1549 peck1567 belly-cheer1579 appast1580 manchet1583 chat1584 belly-metal1590 repasture1598 cibaries1599 belly-timber1607 belly-cheat1608 peckage1610 victuallage1622 keeping1644 vivresa1650 crib1652 prog1655 grub1659 beef1661 fooding1663 teething1673 eatablea1687 sunket1686 yam1788 chow-chow1795 keep1801 feed1818 grubbing1819 patter1824 ninyam1826 nyam1828 grubbery1831 tack1834 kai1845 mungaree1846 scoff1846 foodstuff1847 chuck1850 muckamuck1852 tuck1857 tucker1858 hash1865 nosh1873 jock1879 cake flour1881 chow1886 nosebag1888 stodge1890 food aid1900 tackle1900 munga1907 scarf1932 grubber1959 the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [noun] > good or palatable food yum-yum1889 lovely grub1953 nummies1987 the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [interjection] coming up1908 grub up!1957 1659 Anc. Poems, Ball., etc. (Percy Soc.) 22 Let's joyne together; I'le pass my word this night Shall yield us grub, before the morning light. 1691 Polit. Ballads (1860) II. 20 This weasel..to get him some grub,..and a little good bub. 1781 G. Parker View Society & Manners I. xxii. 171 How did you procure your Grub and Bub? 1813 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 68 The boys..finished the evening with some prime grub, swizzle, and singing. 1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. i. 9 How you'll relish your grub by-and-bye! 1880 E. Fitzgerald Lett. (1889) I. 456 I and my Reader Boy were going into the Pantry for some grub. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms II. iii. 35 We had brought some grub with us and a bottle of grog. 1953 ‘R. Gordon’ Doctor at Sea xiv. 165 All the way down—Miss, Miss, Miss. Lovely grub! 1957 E. Taylor Angel v. i. 220 We're here, madam. Grub up! 1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ix. 161 Cries of jubilation include..Lovely grub! b. A feed. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] mealeOE meatshiplOE meal of meatc1330 meal's meatc1330 refectiona1425 eating1483 mealtide1485 repasc1485 sustenancea1500 breakfast1526 repast1530 recreation1538 cooking1804 eat1844 scoff1846 grub1857 khana1859 meetsuk1896 nosh1964 trough1981 1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. vii. 172 Twice as good a grub as we should have got in the hall. 7. U.S. A root left in the ground after clearing. ΚΠ 1788 G. Washington Diary 20 Feb. (1925) III. 306 At Muddy hole they were..taking up grubs in the Winter fallow of No. 4. 1825 J. Lorain Nature in Pract. Husb. 334 The Yankee farmer first chops the fallen timber, then scalps off the grubs level with the ground. 1839 C. M. Kirkland New Home xx. 133 Grubs are, in western parlance, the gnarled roots of small trees and shrubs. 1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Grubber, a machine or tool to pull grubs; that is, stumps and roots of bushes, saplings, and small trees. 1888 Sci. Amer. 21 Apr. 247 The John Cornelius Grub and Stump Puller. Compounds C1. General attributive. a. (In sense 1.) grub-destroyer n. ΚΠ 1894 R. B. Sharpe Hand-bk. Birds Great Brit. (1896) I. 26 Its [the starling's] good deeds as a grub-destroyer are apt to be forgotten. grub-destroying n. ΚΠ 1864 J. C. Atkinson Stanton Grange 78 Anybody would have mentioned the sparrow as a worker at grub~destroying. grub-hunter n. ΚΠ 1797 J. Wolcot Ode to Sir J. Banks in Wks. (1812) III. 459 The King of Men May make the Knight a grub-hunter agen And bid him mind his butterflies and hammer. grub-hunting n. ΚΠ 1870 J. R. Lowell Among my Bks. (1873) 1st Ser. 320 The regular occupation of grub-hunting is as tame and wearisome as another. grub-skin n. ΚΠ 1849 J. C. Hare Serm. Preacht Herstmonceux Church II. 76 You are not to..furl up your wings, and wrap yourself up in your cast-off grub-skin. b. (In sense 6.) grub-box n. ΚΠ 1887 J. Farrell How he Died 68 There's not much in the grub-box, but I've never turned a man off without a feed. grub-shop n. ΚΠ 1840 W. M. Thackeray Barber Cox in Comic Almanack 25 ‘That's the grub-shop,’ said my lord, ‘where we young gentlemen wot has money buys our wittles, and them young gentlemen wot has none, goes tick.’ grub-wagon n. ΚΠ 1891 Fur, Fin & Feather Mar. 150 They take with them a grub wagon and ten saddle horses, and expect to be absent four months. 1920 J. M. Hunter Trail Drivers of Texas I. 69 We were two miles from the grub wagon. C2. grub-kick n. Rugby = grubber n. Compounds; hence as v. intransitive. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > types of kick or ball drop1845 drop-kick1857 punt-out1861 free kick1862 poster1862 goal kick1870 dropout1882 touch kick1887 touch-finder1898 fly-kick1906 grubber kick1950 grub-kick1951 tap-kick1960 up and under1960 chip kick1965 Garryowen1965 box kick1972 chip and chase1976 1951 Rugger Dec. 5 He uses the grub kick so much favoured by Northern Union players. 1959 Times 6 Mar. 16/2 Elliot and Patterson engineered a try at the posts for the latter from a grub kick by Horrocks-Taylor. 1960 Times 4 Jan. 4/3 Tolson grub-kicked ahead. Categories » grub-plank n. U.S. ‘refuse plank used in fastening together the parts of a lumber-raft’ ( Cent. Dict.). grub-screw n. a screw without a head but with a recess at one end to receive a screwdriver or key. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > screw > other types of screw wrench1552 needle screw1663 female screw1667 stop-screw1680 male screw1682 wood-screw1733 right and left handed screw1738 screw eye1787 claw-screw1795 screw shaft1818 union joint1819 union screw1820 right-and-left screw1821 binding-screw1828 coach screw1874 lag bolt1893 grub-screw1903 Allen screw1910 multithread1921 self-tapper1949 1903 Jrnl. Inst. Electr. Engineers 32 384 It is..becoming quite common..to fasten the armature connection to the commutator segment by means of steel grub screws. 1930 Engineering 26 Dec. 815/2 The terminals..are fixed by a grub screw. grub-stake n. U.S. Mining slang ‘the outfit, provisions, etc. furnished to a prospector on condition of participating in the profits of any find he may make; a lay-out’ ( Cent. Dict.); also transferred. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > prospecting > money, etc., given to prospector grub-stake1863 1863 H. Edgar Jrnl. 27 May in Contrib. Hist. Soc. Montana (1900) III. 138 ‘A grub stake is what we are after’ was our watchword all day, and it is one hundred and fifty dollars in good dust. 1885 H. Butterworth Zigzag Journeys Western States 309 What is roughly termed a ‘grub stake’. 1895 Forum (N.Y.) June 475 The prospector with his led horse, loaded with grub~stake, blankets, pick, and pan. 1932 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 322/1 The farmer realizes the..plight of the out-of-work who..is left without a grub~stake between himself and hunger. 1948 V. Palmer Golconda ii. 10 We'd been out for six months on a grubstake from the store here, looking for mica. 1957 Times 12 Nov. (Canada Suppl.) p. xi/4 The prospector can no longer look forward to making his fortune with a ‘grubstake’ of a few hundred dollars. 1968 R. M. Patterson Finlay's River 96 On the Ingenika itself three prospectors were making at least a good grubstake: they finally took out seventy ounces of gold. grub-stake v. transitive to furnish with grub-stake; also transferred. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply (something) [verb (transitive)] > provide means of support for findc1225 sustainc1300 found1377 keep1377 maintainc1405 sustent?a1425 support1493 uphold1546 subsist1547 escota1616 fend1637 aliment1660 run1871 grub-stake1879 1879 Chicago Tribune 15 May 9/6 Judge Pendery, a former Congressman, politician, and lawyer, has been grubstaking a party of miners who were digging a shaft down near the base of the hill. 1890 A. C. Gunter Miss Nobody ix. 100 He grub-staked us and we used to work on the Tillie mine together. 1919 W. A. Fraser Bulldog Carney 38 I'm goin' to grubstake you,..leave you rations for three days. 1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 358/1 Grub-stake, to give (an author) money to keep him going while he writes a book. 1947 L. Hastings Dragons are Extra i. 30 Grub-staked by some optimistic colleague in town, they could be found at every wayside pub. 1959 Economist 21 Mar. 1073/2 For over seven years, from 1951, soon after the Korean outbreak, until mid-1958, the federal government in effect ‘grubstaked’ owners of promising deposits of strategic minerals. 1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai x. 176 A..dentist whose son Ian..had been grubstaked to Wembley hors concours. grub-staker n. a prospector who is supplied with a grub-stake, or the supplier of a grub-stake. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > prospector > type of garimpeiro1812 pocket hunter1872 pocket miner1872 brine-smeller1878 grub-staker1880 sourdough1898 society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > prospector > one who furnishes prospector with provisions grub-staker1880 1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado (1881) vii. 107 Here does the whilom grub~staker and present millionaire purchase his corner lot. 1897 A. C. Harris Alaska & Klondike Gold Fields 444 A grub-staker is a man who wants someone to stake him with grub, and ‘grub’ is Klondike for beans, bacon and tea. 1898 J. Grinnell Gold Hunting in Alaska (1901) xii. 45 We may have to foot it home just like..prodigal sons who have wasted their substance and that of our grub~stakers in ‘riotous living’. 1926 Glasgow Herald 8 Mar. 10 But the grub-staker who is financed by some wealthy man and will share his discoveries with his backer, is in the fortunate position of having enough money to avoid the dangerous trail. 1969 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 27 Nov. 9/4 The telegram recalled the chamber had recommended..that the prospector and grubstaker tax exemption be maintained in its present form. grub-worm n. = sense 1 (also contemptuous). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > held in contempt thingOE cat?c1225 geggea1300 fox-whelpc1320 creaturea1325 whelp1338 scoutc1380 turnbroach14.. foumart1508 shit1508 get?a1513 strummel?a1513 scofting?1518 pismirea1535 clinchpoop1555 rag1566 huddle and twang1578 whipster1590 slop1599 shullocka1603 tailor1607 turnspit1607 fitchewa1616 bulchin1617 trundle-taila1626 tick1631 louse1633 fart1669 insect1684 mully-grub-gurgeon1746 grub-worm1752 rass1790 foutre1794 blister1806 snot1809 skin1825 scurf1851 scut1873 Siwash1882 stiff1882 bleeder1887 blighter1896 sugar1916 vuilgoed1924 klunk1942 fart sack1943 fart-arse1946 jerkwad1980 society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > low or vulgar person > [noun] gadlinga1300 geggea1300 churlc1300 filec1300 jot1362 scoutc1380 beggara1400 carla1400 turnbroach14.. villainc1400 gnoffc1405 fellowc1425 cavelc1430 haskardc1487 hastardc1489 foumart1508 strummel?a1513 knapper1513 hogshead?1518 jockeya1529 dreng1535 sneakbill1546 Jack1548 rag1566 scald1575 huddle and twang1578 sneaksby1580 companion1581 lowling1581 besognier1584 patchcock1596 grill1597 sneaksbill1602 scum1607 turnspit1607 cocoloch1610 compeer1612 dust-worm1621 besonioa1625 world-worma1625 besognea1652 gippo1651 Jacky1653 mechanic1699 fustya1732 grub-worm1752 raff1778 person1782 rough scuff1816 spalpeen1817 bum1825 sculpin1834 soap-lock1840 tinka1843 'Arry1874 scruff1896 scruffo1959 the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > larva niteOE wormOE grubc1420 canker1440 caterpillarc1440 cankerworm1530 mad1573 bug1594 blote1657 vermicle1657 hexapod1668 grub-worm1752 truffle-worm1753 larva1768 larve1822 1752 C. Smart Hilliad i. 115 Moths, mites, and maggots, fleas (a numerous crew), And gnats and grub-worms crowded on his view. 1807 Salmagundi 18 Apr. 156 Giblet was as arrant a grub-worm as ever crawled. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley I. v. 100 My grub-worm is always a straitened, struggling, careworn tradesman. 1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xlv. 14 Grubworm, the larva of the Green June Beetle. Derivatives grubbed adj. infested with grubs. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > disease or injury > [adjective] > of or having disease caused by insect cankeredc1522 cankerous1613 cankery1681 scabbed1693 grubbed1843 sedged1844 phylloxerated1879 phylloxerized1881 root-knot1888 stem-sick1890 scaly1894 1843 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 4 i. 125 When turnips have what is termed a ‘grubbed’ appearance, it has been attributed to the larvæ of these little beetles. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 592 Every loose turf clod on a grubbed field of oats. grubbing n.² infestation by grubs. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > caused by insects canker1555 grubbing1844 oyster shell scale1877 aphis-blight1882 big bud1884 blackfly1884 fly-blight1887 scale-blight1898 parasitization1909 1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 591 They [the grub larvæ] attack different kinds of corn, especially oats, the effects of grubbing in which are well known to every farmer. grub-like adj. ΚΠ 1822 J. M. Good Study Med. II. 292 A grub-like concretion of mucus. 1874 J. Lubbock Orig. & Metamorphoses Insects i. 18 Apod grub-like larvae. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † grubadj. Origin: Probably formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: grub n. Etymology: Probably < grub n. Compare grubby adj. 3, which is apparently first attested later. Obsolete. rare. = grubby adj. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > [adjective] > dirty and mean ungoderlyc1400 sluttish?1529 squalid1596 scrubbing1603 sordid1611 snotty1681 frowzy1710 grub1719 seedy1725 unkempt1838 grubby1844 crumby1859 ratty1867 scruffy1871 scrutty1914 scummy1932 ribby1936 raunchy1937 sleazy1941 scroungy1948 manky1958 skanky1963 grungy1965 scungy1966 scuzzy1969 scrungy1974 skeevy1976 1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth II. 315 The Taylor with grub Beard and Crimson Nose. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online September 2021). grubv. Brit. /ɡrʌb/, U.S. /ɡrəb/ Forms: (Middle English groube), Middle English grobbe, Middle English–1500s grube, grubbe, 1500s– grub. Etymology: Perhaps representing Old English grybban < prehistoric grubbjan , < Old Germanic gruƀ- ablaut-variant of graƀ- to dig, grave v.¹; compare Old Norse gryfja weak feminine pit, hole, Old High German grubilôn to dig, search (modern German grübeln to pursue over-subtle meditations), Middle Dutch grobben (once) to scrape together (money), Dutch grobbelen to root, feel about for something. For the phonology compare stub representing Old English stybb, shrub representing Old English scrybb. 1. transitive. To dig superficially; to break up the surface of (the ground); to clear (ground) of roots and stumps. Also with up. Said occasionally of animals ‘rooting’. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (transitive)] > dig (hole, etc.) > dig or break up (ground) delvec888 dig1382 gruba1400 stubc1450 cast1497 sheugh1513 to search upc1540 stock1802 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (transitive)] > dig > superficially gruba1400 spuddle1805 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6747 Theif hus brecand, or gruband grund. 1572 Lament Lady Scot. in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 251 Ze suld your ground grube with simplicitie. 1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. xiii. 635 As the ground the more it is crumbled, broken and deepely remooved or grubbed vp, becommeth so much more fertile. 1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xxxi. 122 These serve to manure grounds that are newly grubb'd. 1698 tr. F. Froger Relation Voy. Coasts Afr. 126 Since the Island has been grubbed up, they have begun to grow more healthy. 1786 R. Burns Poems 235 Whether thy soul Soars fancy's flights beyond the pole, Or darkling grubs this earthly hole. 1803 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population (new ed.) i. vi. 82 Vast tracts of land lay in their original uncultivated state, having never been grubbed up or cleared. 1827 J. Montgomery Pelican Island vi. 275 Like the swine That grubb'd the turf. 1840 R. H. Barham Spectre of Tappington in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 7 Some workmen employed in grubbing an old plantation. 1869 L. A. Meredith Tasmanian Mem. 10 A bit of land all grubbed and clear'd too. 1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz in La Saisiaz: Two Poets of Croisic 11 Batz whose Saxons grub The ground for crystals. †2. To dig round the roots of (a plant). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (transitive)] > dig > dig round plant milge?1440 umbedelvec1440 grub1513 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xiii. ix. 76 Saturne..Tawcht thame to grub the wines,..and saw the cornys, and ȝok the cart. 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxx^v Se nowe howe seuen yere passed & more, haue I graffed and groubed a vyne, and with al the wayes that I coude I sought to a fed me of the grape. 3. a. To dig up by the roots, to root up, uproot: esp. with up, less commonly out. Also transferred and figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > root out or up louka1000 morec1325 roota1387 unroot?a1425 stubc1450 roota1500 rid?1529 root-walt?1530 subplant1547 supplant1549 root?1550 grub1558 eradicate1564 to stump up1599 deracinate1609 uproot1695 aberuncate1731 eracinate1739 rootle1795 disroot1800 piggle1847 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > reclaim [verb (transitive)] > clear land > remove roots stockc1440 stock1458 extirp1490 displanta1492 supplant1549 stub1555 grub1558 to stump up1599 averruncate1623 extirpate1651 stump1791 1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos ii. sig. E.iiij Like as on the mountayn top, some auncient oke to fall The plowmen with their axes strong do striue, and twibles tall To grubbe, and round about hath hewd. 1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes xviii. f. cix Wyth good hope of pardon, the roote of Desperation beyng cleane grubbed oute. 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxx. xi. 394 Papyrius chaunced to espie a shrub hard by, and caused it to be grubbed up. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. i. 23 The fruite she goes with I pray for heartily..but for the Stocke..I wish it grubb'd vp now. View more context for this quotation 1640 J. Shirley St. Patrick iv. sig. H We will redeeme our rashnesse, By grubbing up these Christians, that begin To infect us, and our kingdome. 1659 T. Burton Diary (1828) III. 321 Commonwealth was a good title, but grubbed up by the title of Chief Magistrate. 1664 J. Evelyn Sylva (1679) iii. §13. 23 The very stumps of Oak, especially that part which is dry,..being well grubb'd, is many times worth the pains and charge, for sundry rare, and hard works. a1697 J. Aubrey Nat. Hist. Surrey (1718) III. 328 A kind of Stony Coal..he found by grubbing up the Roots of an old Oak. 1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth II. 165 A Country Bumpkin that Trees did grub. 1807 E. S. Barrett Rising Sun II. 86 To lay the axe to the root of decency, and to grub up morality. 1819 G. Crabbe Tales of Hall I. iv. 64 Look at that land—you find not there a weed, We grub the roots, and suffer none to seed. 1831 T. B. Macaulay Hampden in Ess. (1889) 203 The mutilated defenders of liberty..manfully presented the stumps of their ears to be grubbed out by the hangman's knife. 1881 C. Whitehead Hops 8 Modern hop-planters have remorselessly grubbed the male plants. 1888 J. Inglis Tent Life Tigerland 140 Jungles..in which the huge grey tusker grunts suspiciously as he grubs up his meal of roots. †b. To pluck out (hair) by the roots. Also absol. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > pluck out grubc1320 pullc1390 decerp1531 excerpta1552 decerpta1631 pluck1893 c1320 tr. J. Bonaventura Medit. 972 My body y ȝave to men smytyng And also my chekes to men grubbyng. 1633 T. Adams Comm. 2 Peter (i. 16) 290 Yet I would not have men..to grub their beards, yea, their very chins. 4. With up, out: To extract by digging. Also transferred and figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > reclaim [verb (transitive)] > clear land redeeOE ridlOE grubc1374 stub1464 clot1483 shrub1553 clear1634 cure1719 stump1796 spade1819 slash1821 underbrush1824 to clean up1839 underbush1886 screef1913 the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > dig out or up delvec1000 upgravea1340 undelve1340 grubc1374 to dig upc1400 to dig outa1425 unearthc1450 sprittle1585 effode1657 to cast up1660 exhume1783 moot1823 excavate1848 lift1883 spud1886 pig-root1890 c1374 G. Chaucer Former Age 29 To grobbe vp metal lurkynge in dirkenesse. 1840 W. Cobbett Advt. French Gram. I had learnt French without a master. I had grubbed it out, bit by bit. 1842 J. L. Motley Let. 17 Feb. in Corr. (1889) I. iv. 102 I..began grubbing up the antiquities. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy i. 16 He pulled forth his hand which had been grubbing up his prizes from the bottom of his pocket. †5. ? To ‘dig’ (something) into a surface. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > insertion or putting in > insert or put in [verb (transitive)] > forcibly thrustc1175 quevena1400 stopc1480 ingyre1513 ram1519 dig1553 intrude1563 purr1574 spring1597 grub1607 inject1611 ingest1617 sock1843 to dig in1885 1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster West-ward Hoe ii. i. sig. B4^v Iusti. She leanes somewhat too hard vppon her pen yet..Hony. Then she grubs her pen. Iusti. Its but my paines to mend the neb agen. 6. a. intransitive. To dig. In later use, connoting the idea of mean or grovellingly laborious occupation. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (intransitive)] > dig or excavate gravea1000 delvec1000 wrootc1325 minec1330 gruba1350 sinkc1358 undermine1382 diga1387 spit1393 to pick upc1400 holk1513 graff1532 pion1643 excavate1843 throw1843 crow1853 spade1869 society > occupation and work > working > [verb (intransitive)] > work in other specific ways or conditions dead horse1640 grub1798 subcontract1827 chare1828 slut1829 to take up one's livery1839 hat1868 to work on tribute1869 freelance1904 work1920 nine-to-five1962 job-share1978 telework1983 a1350 Finding Cross 267 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 60 Fast grubed þai þore obout; So depe þai grubbed & so fast, Thre crosses fand þai at þe last. c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 208 Crist, gardener of þis vineȝerde, grubbide inne and dongide it. c1400 Siege Jerusalem (1932) 64/1108 With mynours & masouns; myne þey bygonne, Grobben faste vndir þe grounde. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 217/1 Grubbyn' yn the erthe, fodico. c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) iii. 114 Thai be arted bi necessite so to wacch, labour, and grubbe in the ground for thair sustenaunce, that their nature is much wastid. 1798 T. J. Mathias Pursuits of Lit.: Pt. IV (ed. 7) 256 I look for no pasture in the fields of Ministers or of Booksellers: nor would I be turned out..to grub and delve in Mr. Pitt's Straw-yard. 1800 A. Addison Rep. Cases Pennsylvania 294 M^cInnes sent a man to this place who grubbed a week. 1864 M. Gatty Parables 4th Ser. 6 Many were the hours he had spent..grubbing in the old black soil. 1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xv. 137 I met plenty of people, grubbing in little miserable fields. b. transferred. Of animals: To root, search for something in the earth, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (intransitive)] > grub or root about in the earth nuzzle1530 grub1647 rootle1803 grubble1867 1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (Mark ix. 46) Having worms ever grubbing and gnawing upon the entrails. 1845 A. Smith Fortunes Scattergood Fam. III. ii. 18 [He] was..making the animal crawl upon its knees after him, with its nose grubbing in the sawdust. 1862 C. M. Yonge Countess Kate ix. 160 A hole that looked as if an old hen had been grubbing in it. 1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling iii. 63 The carp..might be seen rolling and grubbing all around the hook. 7. transferred and figurative. To search in an undignified, abject, or grovelling manner; to rummage. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > poke about or grub prog1579 rout1711 grub1800 ratch1801 root1831 fossick1853 rootle1854 scrounge1909 roust1919 1800 P. Colquhoun Treat. Commerce & Police R. Thames ii. 67 These miserable beings..grub in the River at low water for old Ropes, Metals, &c. 1837 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 97 Coleoptera are more scarce, as I cannot grub for them myself for fear of centipedes. 1850 R. W. Emerson Swedenborg in Representative Men iii. 101 Such a boy..goes grubbing into mines and mountains,..to find images fit for..his versatile..brain. 1855 E. Forbes Lit. Papers xi. 280 [They] were too absorbed in the delights of their own peculiar pursuits to think of grubbing for lucre. 1884 A. Lang in Cent. Mag. Jan. 325/2 Grubbing among Roman remains and relics. 1886 W. H. Mallock Old Order Changes II. 50 Meanwhile, however, he had been grubbing about in his bag. 1895 C. R. B. Barrett Surrey ii. 58 Grubbing about in the oldest..part of the building, I found..four pieces of Norman..moulding. 8. Chiefly with on, along, away: To lead a meanly plodding or grovelling existence; to live laboriously or ploddingly, to toil, ‘fag’. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > exert oneself or make an effort [verb (intransitive)] > toil > steadily or dully plod1562 to tug at the (an) oar1612 plot1621 grub1735 grind1855 plough1891 stodge1912 1735 W. Pardon Dyche's New Gen. Eng. Dict. Grub..to go on in a mean, servile, covetous, nasty Way or Manner of Living. 1766 C. Anstey New Bath Guide viii. i. 50 We may grub on without it thro' Life, I suppose. 1809 Mrs. Mitford in L'Estrange Friendships Miss M. (1882) I. Introd. 18 I must grub away all the evening to get it accomplished. 1853 C. Dickens Bleak House v. 37 We both grub on in a muddle. 1862 G. Meredith Juggling Jerry in Mod. Love x I, lass, have lived no gipsy, flaunting Finery, while his poor help~mate grubs. 1868 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 401 I was grubbing away at an article for the North American. 1894 ‘J. S. Winter’ Red Coats 10 This sort of thing isn't living—it's only grubbing along from day to day. 1895 W. Rye Gloss. Words E. Anglia Grub, to pick up a living in mean, haphazard ways. 9. [? < grub n.] slang. a. To take ‘grub’ or food; to feed, eat. Also to grub it. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eat [verb (intransitive)] eatc825 to break breadeOE baitc1386 feeda1387 to take one's repast?1490 to take repast1517 repast1520 peck?1536 diet1566 meat1573 victual1577 graze1579 manger1609 to craw it1708 grub1725 scoff1798 browse1818 provender1819 muckamuck1853 to put on the nosebag1874 refect1882 restaurate1882 nosh1892 tucker1903 to muck in1919 scarf1960 snack1972 1725 New Canting Dict. Grub,..to Eat, to Dine, &c. 1839 B. Disraeli Corr. with Sister (1886) 121 I found some twenty~five gentlemen grubbing in solemn silence. 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxiv. 588 Come away into the supper-room..seeing these nobs grubbing away has made me peckish too. 1893 R. Kipling Many Inventions 32 I was grubbing on fowls and boiled corn. b. transitive. To provide with ‘grub’ or food. slang. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > supply with provisions victualc1380 meat1568 provant1599 provision1604 catera1616 bread1797 grub1819 ration1834 vegetate1846 tucker1899 feed1904 1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. (at cited word) To grub a person, is to diet him, or find him in victuals. 1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xxii. 225 The red-nosed man warn't by no means the sort of person you'd like to grub by contract. 1883 Daily Tel. 18 May 3/1 They are not bound to grub you. 10. Cock-fighters' slang. (See quot. 1706.) ΚΠ 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Grubbing a Cock, a cutting off the Cock's Feathers under the Wings. Compounds The verb-stem used attributively. grub-axe n. (corruptly †grubbage) an implement used in grubbing up roots, stumps, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > uprooting tool meak1478 pease-meak1583 grubber1598 grub-axe1611 dog1727 pea-make1794 hop-dog1796 eradicator1807 stub-dig1837 stub-hoe1858 grub-hoea1884 grub-hook1884 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Aigre, a kind of Grub-axe, or instrument wherewith roots, and shrubs are plucked up. 1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ 271 Grubbage, see Mattock. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Grubbage or Grub-ax, a Tool to grub up Roots of Trees, Weeds, etc. 1878 R. Jefferies Gamekeeper at Home iv. 72 Strong spades and grub-axes for rooting out a lost ferret. grub-hoe n. = grub-axe n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > uprooting tool meak1478 pease-meak1583 grubber1598 grub-axe1611 dog1727 pea-make1794 hop-dog1796 eradicator1807 stub-dig1837 stub-hoe1858 grub-hoea1884 grub-hook1884 a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 428/1 Grub Hoe, Grub Hook. grub-hook n. = grub-axe n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > uprooting tool meak1478 pease-meak1583 grubber1598 grub-axe1611 dog1727 pea-make1794 hop-dog1796 eradicator1807 stub-dig1837 stub-hoe1858 grub-hoea1884 grub-hook1884 1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 428/1 Grub Hook. grub-fell v. (transitive) to bring down (a tree) by cutting at the root. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [verb (transitive)] > cut tree near roots stub1594 grub-fell1787 1787 W. Marshall Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Norfolk II. 381 Grub-felling, the common method of taking down timber-trees. 1894 Times 11 Sept. 16/7 Every tree should be ‘grub-felled’—that is, taken up by the roots. grub-saw n. a hand-saw used for sawing marble slabs into strips. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > saw > [noun] > for cutting stone stone-saw1843 grub-saw1853 1853 O. Byrne Handbk. Artisan 92 The cutting is effected with smaller blades, called grub-saws. Derivatives grubbed adj. ΚΠ 1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village (1863) II. 414 The excellent double hedge-row of grubbed wood. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022). > see also also refers to : Grub-comb. form < n.a1400adj.1719v.c1320 see also
随便看	to pick up the thread of to pick up the threads to pick up the threads of to pick up where one left off to pick upon to pick win a thank to pickle in one's own poke-nook to pickle in one's own pokenook to piddle away to piece down to piece in to piece on to piece out to piece together to piece up to pieces to pierce one's heart to pierce one's stomach to pierce the corporate veil to pig along to pig out to pike on the wind to pile arms to pile it on to pile on lugs