1883. Daily Telegraph, 18 May, p. 3, c. 1. ‘They are not bound to grub you, don’t you know,’ said Mr. Sleasey, ‘and they try the starving dodge on you sometimes.’ 2. (old).—To beg; to ask for alms, especially food. 3. (American).—To study, or read hard; to ‘sweat.’ To ride grub, verb. phr. (old).—To be sulky; crusty (q.v.); disagreeable. 1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue. To ride grub, to be sullen or out of temper. To grub along, verb. phr. (common).—To make one’s way as best one can; ‘to rub along.’ 1888. Daily Telegraph, 19 Oct. When a youth left school to follow the pursuits of life he found that he had to grub along as best he could. Grubbing, subs. (common).—Eating. 1819. Moore, Tom Crib. What with snoozing, high grubbing, and guzzling like Cloe. Grubbery, subs. (common).—(1) an eating-house. Also (2) a dining-room, and (3) the mouth. Grubbing-crib, subs. (general).—1. An eating-house. Grubbing-crib faker = the landlord of a cheap cookshop. Fr., le nourrisseur; Sp., un ostalero. See Grub Shop, sense 2. English Synonyms.—Grubbery; grubby-, or grubbing-ken; grub-shop; guttle-shop; hash-house; mungarly casa; prog-shop; slap-bang shop; tuck-shop; waste-butt. French Synonyms.—Un bourre-boyaux (popular = a stuff-your-guts); un claquedents (popular, also = a brothel, or punting-house); une guingette (general); une mangeoire (popular = a grubbery: manger = to eat); un mattais (popular); un gargot (thieves’). German Synonym.—Achilebajes (from Heb., Ochal = to eat). Spanish Synonym.—Ostaleria, or Osteria (also = lush-crib). 1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. 2. (tramps’).—A workhouse. For synonyms, see Spinniken. Sometimes Grubbiken. 1851–61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. and Lond. Poor, iii., 416. I know all the good houses, and the tidy grubbikens—that’s the unions where there’s little or nothing to do for the food we gets. Grubble, verb. (colloquial).—(1) To feel for at random or in the dark; and (2) (venery) to grope (q.v.). 1684. Dryden, The Disappointment. ‘Prologue.’ The doughty bullies enter bloody drunk, Invade and grubble one another’s punk. Grubby, subs. (thieves’).—Food. [A diminutive of Grub (q.v.).] d. 1842. Maginn, Vidocq’s Song. I pattered in flash like a covey knowing, Tol lol, etc. Ay, bub or grubby, I say. Adj. (colloquial).—Dirty; slovenly. d. 1845. Hood, A Black Job. Like a grubby lot of sooty sweeps or colliers. Grub-hunting, subs. (tramps’).—Begging for food. Grub-shite, verb. (old).—To make foul or dirty; to bewray.—Grose. Grub-shop, (or -crib, -trap, etc.), subs. (common).—1. The mouth; and (2) a grubbery (q.v.). For synonyms, see Potato-trap. 1840. Thackeray, Comic Almanack, p. 229. ‘That’s the grub shop,’ said my lord, ‘where we young gentlemen wot has money buys our wittles.’ 3. See Grubbing-crib in both senses.