▪ I. grub, n.
(grʌb)
Forms: 5 grobbe, grubbe, 7 grubb, 6– grub.
[? f. grub v.]
1. The larva of an insect, esp. of a beetle; a caterpillar, maggot; also (now dial.), a worm.
| c 1420 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. ? a 1500 Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.) vii. 227 The dirte is so deepe..and the grubbs thereon doe creepe. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. iii. 126 What Torch is yond that vainley lends his light To grubs, and eyelesse Sculles? 1607 ― Cor. v. iv. 11–12 There is differency between a Grub & a Butterfly; yet your Butterfly was a Grub. a 1653 G. Daniel Idyll iii. 169 The World's an Ant-hill, and the little Grubbs Stocke themselves warme. 1664 Power Exp. 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 Phil. Trans. IV. 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 Armoury ii. 204/1 The Grub is a general term for the smaller worms that breed in the Earth. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VIII. 63 The history of grubs changing into their corresponding winged animals. 1784 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. 1796 C. Marshall Garden. xv. (1813) 242 Those lettuces in the open ground are often destroyed by grubs lurking about the roots. 1859 R. Thompson Gardener's Assist. 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 S. Cheshire Gloss., Grub, any kind of worm except the largest. |
| fig. 1837 Macaulay Ess., Bacon (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. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge xl, 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.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 1753 And slike a dwinyng, a dwaȝe, & a dwerȝe as þi-selfe, A grub [Dubl. MS. grob], a grege out of grace. 1602 Carew Cornwall 63 John Romaine, a short clownish grub, would beare the whole carkase of an oxe, and yet neuer tugged with him. 1611 Cotgr., Rabougri,..a grub, counterfeit, short or short-necked crooke-backe. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Grub, a Dwarf, or short Fellow. |
b. A person of mean abilities, a dull industrious drudge, a literary hack; in recent use, a person of slovenly attire and unpleasant manners.
| 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. Prol. 6 So saith a Turlupin or a new start-up grub of my books. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. xxx. (1804) 198 This miserable grub [the captain's clerk] who had been an attorney's boy. 1771 ― Humph. Cl. 10 June, 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? 1838 De Quincey Shaks. Wks. (1863) XV. 7 Mr. Nahum Tate:—This poor grub of literature. 1896 Du Maurier Martian (1898) 390 Clubs have a way of blackballing grubs—especially grubs that are out of the common grubby. |
† c. ? A money-grubber.
Obs. [
Cf. Du. dial. (Gelderland)
grobbe in the same sense.]
| a 1681 J. Lacy Sauny the Scot iv. (1698) 31 'Tis the Old Grub, Woodall. What shall we do with him? |
d. dial. A small dirty child.
| a 1845 Hood Clubs iii, The Cook's a hasher—nothing more—The Children noisy grubs. 1888 Berksh. Gloss. s.v., A dirty little child is called ‘a young grub’. |
e. U.S. A hard-reading student.
| 1847 D. A. Wells & S. H. Davis Sk. Williams College 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 College Words, Grub, a hard student. Williams College. |
† 3. a. (See
quot. 1706 and
cf. maggot.)
Obs.| 1681 Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 42 (1713) II. 22, I thought my Song might have removed your Grubs; but I see some Marks still of Melancholy upon you. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Grub,..a capricious Humour or Whimsey. |
b. Phr.
to ride grub,
be up a grub (
dial.): to be sulky or bad-tempered. (
Cf. grubby 4.)
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. Tongue s.v., To ride grub, to be sullen or out of temper. 1840 Spurdens Suppl. to Forby (1858) 20 ‘To be up a grub’, ‘to ride grub’, is to be out of temper, morose. [Cf. 1847–78 Halliwell s.v., The grubs bite him hard, i.e. he is sulky. East.] |
4. (See
quots.)
| 1731 Bailey vol. II, Grubbs..a kind of white, unctuous, little pimples or tumours, rising on the face, chiefly on the Alæ of the nose. 1833 in 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.
| 1870 Baily's Mag. Sports 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 Australians in England 92 The latter bowls left-handed ‘grubs’ of the most pronounced description. 1894 Sir J. D. Astley 50 Years Life I. 63 We had a private who could bowl fast left-hand grubs. 1896 Blackw. Mag. Apr. 581 Abe Hollo well bowled really good grubs on occasion. |
6. slang. a. Food or provender of any kind.
Colloq. phrs.:
grub up!, the food is ready; time to eat!;
lovely grub, good food; also
transf.| 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 Pol. Ballads (1860) II. 20 This weasel..to get him some grub,..and a little good bub. 1781 G. Parker View Society 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. 1833 Marryat P. Simple (1863) 147 How you'll relish your grub by and by! 1880 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 456, I and my Reader Boy were going into the Pantry for some grub. 1889 ‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms (1890) 177 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. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. ix. 161 Cries of jubilation include..Lovely grub! |
b. A feed.
| 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. vii, Twice as good a grub as we should have got in the hall. |
7. U.S. A root left in the ground after clearing.
| 1788 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 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 Knight 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. |
8. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 1)
grub-destroyer,
grub-destroying,
grub-hunter,
grub-hunting,
grub-skin;
grub-like adj.; (sense 6)
grub-box,
grub-shop,
grub-wagon;
grub-kick Rugby Football,
= grubber 6; hence as
v. intr.;
grub-plank U.S., ‘refuse plank used in fastening together the parts of a lumber-raft’ (
Cent. Dict.);
grub-screw, a screw without a head but with a recess at one end to receive a screwdriver or key;
grub-stake 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’ (
Ibid.); also
transf.; hence
grub-stake vb. trans., to furnish with grub-stake; also
transf.;
grub-staker, a prospector who is supplied with a grub-stake, or the supplier of a grub-stake;
grub-worm = sense 1, also
contemptuous.
| 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. |
| 1894 R. B. Sharpe Handbk. Birds Gt. Brit. (1896) I. 26 Its [the starling's] good deeds as a *grub-destroyer are apt to be forgotten. |
| 1863 Atkinson Stanton Grange 78 Anybody would have mentioned the sparrow as a worker at *grub⁓destroying. |
| 1797 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Ode to Sir J. Banks Wks. 1812 III. 459 The King of Men May make the Knight a *grub-hunter agen And bid him mind his butterflies and hammer. |
| 1870 Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. i (1873) 320 The regular occupation of *grub-hunting is as tame and wearisome as another. |
| 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. |
| 1882–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) II. 54 A *grub-like concretion of mucus. 1874 Lubbock Orig. & Met. Ins. i. 18 Apod grub-like larvae. |
| 1903 Jrnl. Inst. Electr. Engin. XXXII. 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. |
| 1840 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’. |
| 1849 Hare Serm. II. 76 You are not to..furl up your wings, and wrap yourself up in your cast-off *grub-skin. |
| 1863 H. Edgar Jrnl. 27 May in Montana Hist. Soc. Contrib. (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 Butterworth Zig-zag Journ. West. 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. 1947 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. |
| 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 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 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. |
| 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, B.C.) 27 Nov. 9/4 The telegram recalled the chamber had recommended..that the prospector and grubstaker tax exemption be maintained in its present form. |
| 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 69 We were two miles from the grub wagon. |
| 1752 Smart Hilliad i. 115 Moths, mites, and maggots, fleas (a numerous crew), And gnats and *grub-worms crowded on his view. 1807–8 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 134 Giblet was as arrant a grub-worm as ever crawled. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley v, 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. |
Hence
grubbed a., infested with grubs;
grubbing vbl. n., infestation by grubs.
| 1843 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IV. i. 125 When turnips have what is termed a ‘grubbed’ appearance, it has been attributed to the larvæ of these little beetles. 1844 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. Ibid. 592 Every loose turf clod on a grubbed field of oats. |
▪ II. † grub, a. Obs. rare—1.
= grubby a. 3.
| 1717 D'Urfey Pills (1719) II. 315 The Taylor with grub Beard and Crimson Nose. |
▪ III. grub, v. (
grʌb)
Forms: (4
groube), 4–5
grobbe, 4–6
grube,
grubbe, 6–
grub.
[Perh. repr. OE. *grybban:—prehistoric *grubbjan, f. OTeut. *gruƀ- ablaut-variant of *graƀ- to dig, grave v.1; cf. ON. gryfja wk. fem. pit, hole, OHG. grubilôn to dig, search (mod.G. grübeln to pursue over-subtle meditations), MDu. grobben (once) to scrape together (money), Du. grobbelen to root, feel about for something. For the phonology cf. stub repr. OE. stybb, shrub repr. OE. scrybb.] 1. trans. To dig superficially; to break up the surface of (the ground); to clear (ground) of roots and stumps. Also with
up. Said
occas. of animals ‘rooting’.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6747 Theif hus brecand, or gruband grund. 1572 Lament. L. Scotl. in Sc. Poems 16th C. II. 251 Ze suld your ground grube with simplicitie. 1603 Florio Montaigne iii. xiii. 635 As the ground the more it is crumbled, broken, and deepely remoued or grubbed vp, becommeth so much more fertile. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxxi. 122 These serve to manure grounds that are newly grubb'd. 1698 Froger Voy. 126 Since the Island has been grubbed up, they have begun to grow more healthy. 1786 Burns Bard's Epit., Whether thy soul Soars fancy's flights beyond the pole, Or darkling grubs this earthly hole. 1798 Malthus Popul. (1817) I. 165 Vast tracts of land lay in their original uncultivated state, having never been grubbed up or cleared. 1827 Montgomery Pelican Isl. vi. 275 Like the swine That grubb'd the turf. 1840 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. i. Spectre Tappington, Some workmen employed in grubbing an old plantation. 1869 L. A. Meredith Tasman. Mem. 10 A bit of land all grubbed and clear'd too. 1878 Browning Poets Croisic 11 Batz whose Saxons grub The ground for crystals. |
† 2. To dig round the roots of (a plant).
Obs.| 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. v. (Skeat) I. 92 See now how, seven yere passed and more, have I graffed and groubed a vyne; and with al the wayes that I coude I sought to a fed me of the grape. 1513 Douglas æneis xiii. ix. 76 Saturne..Tawcht thame to grub the wines,..and saw the cornys, and ȝok the cart. |
3. To dig up by the roots, to root up, uproot:
esp. with
up, less commonly
out. Also
transf. and
fig.| 1555–8 T. Phaer æneid ii. E iv, 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. Watson Sev. Sacram. xviii. 113 Wyth good hope of pardon, the roote of Desperation beyng cleane grubbed oute. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xxx. xi. 394 Papyrius chaunced to espie a shrub hard by, and caused it to be grubbed up. 1613 Shakes. Hen. 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 Shirley St. Patrick iv. ii, We will redeem our rashness, By grubbing up these Christians, that begin To infect us and our kingdom. 1658–9 Burton's Diary (1828) III. 321 Commonwealth was a good title, but grubbed up by the title of Chief Magistrate. 1664 Evelyn Sylva iii. §13 (1679) 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. a 1697 Aubrey Nat. Hist. Surrey (1719) III. 328 A kind of Stony Coal..he found by grubbing up the Roots of an old Oak. 1719 D'Urfey Pills 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 Crabbe T. of Hall iv. 81 Look at that land,—you find not there a weed, We grub the roots, and suffer none to seed. 1831 Macaulay Hampden 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 Whitehead Hops 8 Modern hop-planters have remorselessly grubbed the male plants. 1888 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.| c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 972 My body y ȝave to men smytyng And also my chekes to men grubbyng. 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter i. 16 Yet I would not have men..to grub their beards, yea, their very chins. |
4. With
up,
out: To extract by digging. Also
transf. and
fig.| c 1374 Chaucer Former Age 29 To grobbe vp metal lurkynge in dirkenesse. 1840 Cobbett Advt. Fr. Gram., I had learnt French without a master. I had grubbed it out, bit by bit. 1842 Motley Corr. (1889) I. iv. 102, I..began grubbing up 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.
Obs.| 1607 Dekker Westw. Hoe ii. i, 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. intr. To dig. In recent use, connoting the idea of mean or grovellingly laborious occupation.
| a 1350 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. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 208 Crist, gardener of þis vineȝerde, grubbide inne and dongide it. c 1400 Sege Jerusalem (E.E.T.S.) 64/1108 With mynours & masouns; myne þey bygonne, Grobben faste vndir þe grounde. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 217/1 Grubbyn' yn the erthe, fodico. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. iii. (1885) 114 Thai be arted bi necessite so to wacch, labour, and grubbe in the ground for thair sustenaunce, that their nature is much wastid. 1794 Mathias Purs. Lit. (1798) 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 Addison Amer. Law 294 M{supc}Innes sent a man to this place who grubbed a week. 1864 Mrs. A. Gatty Parables fr. Nat. Ser. iv. 6 Many were the hours he had spent..grubbing in the old black soil. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xv. (1888) 137, I met plenty of people, grubbing in little miserable fields. |
b. transf. Of animals: To root, search for something in the earth, etc.
| 1647 Trapp Comm. Mark ix. 46 Having worms ever grubbing and gnawing upon the entrails. 1845 Alb. Smith Fort. Scatterg. Fam. xlii. (1887) 138 [He] was..making the animal crawl upon its knees after him, with its nose grubbing in the sawdust. 1862 C. M. Yonge C'tess Kate ix. (1880) 96 A hole that looked as if an old hen had been grubbing in it. 1867 F. Francis Angling iii. (1880) 79 The carp..might be seen rolling and grubbing all around the hook. |
7. transf. and
fig. To search in an undignified, abject, or grovelling manner; to rummage.
| 1800 Colquhoun Comm. 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. 1847 Emerson Repr. Men, Swedenborg Wks. (Bohn) I. 314 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 Century Mag. Jan. 325/2 Grubbing among Roman remains and relics. 1886 Mallock Old Order Changes II. 50 Meanwhile, however, he had been grubbing about in his bag. 1895 C. R. B. Barrett Survey 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’.
| 1735 Dyche & Pardon Dict., Grub..to go on in a mean, servile, covetous, nasty Way or Manner of Living. 1766 [Anstey] Bath Guide viii. 33 We may grub on with⁓out it through 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. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. v, We both grub on in a muddle. 1862 G. Meredith Mod. Love, etc. Juggling Jerry x, I, lass, have lived no gipsy, flaunting Finery, while his poor help⁓mate grubs. 1868 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 E. Angl. Gloss., Grub, to pick up a living in mean, haphazard ways. |
9. [?
f. the
n.]
slang. a. To take ‘grub’ or food; to feed, eat. Also
to grub it.
| 1725 New Canting Dict., Grub,..to Eat, to Dine, &c. 1839 Disraeli Corr. w. Sister (1886) 121, I found some twenty⁓five gentlemen grubbing in solemn silence. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxiv, Come away into the supper-room..seeing those nobs grubbing away has made me peckish too. 1893 R. Kipling Many Invent. 32, I was grubbing on fowls and boiled corn. |
b. trans. To provide with ‘grub’ or food.
slang.| 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v., To grub a person, is to diet him, or find him in victuals. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxii, 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 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Grubbing a Cock, a cutting off the Cock's Feathers under the Wings. |
11. Comb. (the
vb.-stem used
attrib.), as
grub-axe (corruptly
† grubbage),
-hoe,
-hook, implements used in grubbing up roots, stumps, etc.;
grub-fell v. trans., to bring down (a tree) by cutting at the root;
grub-saw, a hand-saw used for sawing marble slabs into strips.
| 1611 Cotgr. Aigre, a kind of *Grub-axe, or instrument wherewith roots, and shrubs are plucked up. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. 271 Grubbage, see Mattock. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Grubbage or Grub-ax, a Tool to grub up Roots of Trees, Weeds, etc. 1878 Jefferies Gamekeeper at H. iv. 72 Strong spades and grub-axes for rooting out a lost ferret. |
| 1894 Times 11 Sept. 16/7 Every tree should be ‘*grub-felled’—that is, taken up by the roots. |
| 1787 W. Marshall Norfolk (1795) II. 381 *Grub-felling, the common method of taking down timber trees. |
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Grub Hoe, *Grub Hook. |
| 1853 O. Byrne Handbk. Artisan 92 The cutting is effected with smaller blades, called *grub-saws. |
Hence
grubbed ppl. a.| 1826 Miss Mitford Village Ser. ii. (1863) 414 The excellent double hedge-row of grubbed wood. |