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.