1841. Lytton, Night and Morning, Bk. V., ch. ii. A private room and
a pint of brandy, my dear. Hot water and lots of the grocery.
Grog, subs. (old: now recognised).—Spirits and water; strong drink
generally. [Till Admiral Vernon’s time (1745) rum was served neat, but
he ordered it to be diluted, and was therefore nicknamed ‘Old Grog,’ in
allusion to his grogram coat: a phrase that was presently adapted to
the mixture he had introduced.] Groggy = drunk.
Verb. (old).—To dilute or adulterate with water.
1878. Lincoln, Rutland, and Stamford Mercury, 8 Mar. The defendants
had grogged the casks by putting in hot water.
To have grog on board (or to be grogged), verb. phr. (common).—To be
drunk. For synonyms, see Screwed.
1842. Comic Almanack, October. He stands and listens, sad and
dogged, To ‘fined five bob’ for being grogged.
Grog-blossom, subs. (common).—A pimple caused by drinking to excess.
Also Copper-nose and Jolly-nose. Fr., un nez culotté and un nez de
pompettes.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, Grog-blossom, s.v.
1883. Thos. Hardy, The Three Strangers, in Longman’s Mag., March,
p. 576. A few grog-blossoms marked the neighbourhood of his nose.
1888. W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, ch. xi., p. 169. The outward and
visible signs of rum were indeed various. First, there was the red
and swollen nose, next, the nose beautifully painted with
grog-blossoms.
Grog-fight, subs. (military).—A drinking party. Cf., Tea-fight.
1876. R. M. Jephson, Girl he Left Behind Him, ch. 1. He had been
having a grog-fight in his room to celebrate the event.
Groggery, subs. (American).—A public bar; a grog-shop.
Groggy, adj. (colloquial).—1. Under the influence of drink. For
synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.
1829. Buckstone, Billy Taylor. i., as a gay young woman, will
delude Taylor away from Mary, make him groggy, then press him off
to sea.
1863. Fun, 23 May, p. 98, c. 2. They fined drunkards and swearers,
and there is a record in the parish-books, among others of a
similar nature, of a certain Mrs. Thunder who was fined twelve
shillings for being, like Mr. Cruikshank’s horse at the Brighton
Review, decidedly groggy.
1872. Echo, 30 July. A model of perfection had she not shown more
than necessary partiality to her elder friend’s brandy bottle
during the journey, despite the latter’s oft-repeated caution not
to become groggy.
2. (colloquial).—Staggering or stupified with drink. Also (stable)
moving as with tender feet. Also (pugilists’) unsteady from punishment
and exhaustion. Fr., locher = to be groggy.
1831. Youatt, The Horse, ch. xvi., p. 380. Long journeys at a fast
pace will make almost any horse groggy.
1846–8. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, vol. ii., ch. v. Cuff coming up
full of pluck, but quite reeling and groggy, the Fig-merchant put
in his left as usual on his adversary’s nose, and sent him down for
the last time.
1853. Diogenes, vol. ii., p. 177. The anxiety is not confined to
the metropolis; as a respectable grazier, who rides a groggy horse,
on hearing of it at a public-house the other day, affirmed it to be
the mysterious cause of the rise in the value of horseflesh.
1888. Sportsman, 28 Nov. In the tenth Thompson, who had been
growing groggy, to the surprise of Evans began to force the
fighting.
Grogham, subs. (old).—A horse; a daisy-kicker (q.v.). Now mostly in
contempt. For synonyms, see Prad.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
Grog-shop, subs. (common).—The mouth. For synonyms, see Potatoe-trap.
1843. Thackeray, Men’s Wives, Frank Berry, ch. i. Claret drawn in
profusion from the gown-boy’s grog-shop.
Grog-tub, subs. (nautical).—A brandy bottle.
Groom, subs. (gamesters’).—A croupier.
Groomed. See Well-groomed.
Groovy, subs. (American).—A sardine.
Adj. (popular).—Settled in habit; limited in mind.
Grope, verb. (venery).—To feel a woman; to fumble; to fam (q.v.).
1611. Cotgrave, Dictionarie. Mariolement. Groping of a wench.
1719. Durfey, Pills, etc., i., 194. Smoking, toping, Landlady
groping.
Groper, subs. (old).—1. A blind man; hoodman (q.v.).
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.