grubber

English

Etymology

From grub +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)
Rhymes: -ʌbə(ɹ)

Noun

grubber (plural grubbers)

One who grubs.
A machine or tool of the nature of a grub axe, grub hook, etc.
(rugby) An attacking short-distance kick in behind the defence in which the ball is bounced along the ground, using the uneven bounce of the ball to make it difficult for the defence to retrieve.
Synonym: grubber kick
- 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France‎^[1]:
  England had an early opportunity with a line-out deep in French territory after a clever grubber from Foden only for Lionel Nallet to burgle back possession, and they then tore into France again as Alexis Palisson was smashed backwards after taking a garryowen and Manu Tuilagi thundered into Morgan Parra.
- 2023 October 28, Leighton Koopman, “YES!!! The Springboks beat the All Blacks to win another Rugby World Cup title”, in Independent Online‎^[2]:
  Take that brilliant backline move off a scrum when Kolbe came off his left wing to put in a neat grubber for Arendse on the right wing to almost round the defense in the corner.
(cricket) A ball that bounces unusually low such that it is difficult for the batsman to hit properly.
(UK, slang, dated) A sweetshop.
- 1925, The Oxford Outlook, numbers 34-43, page 158:
  He could, moreover, no longer be tempted to the Grubber, for all chocolate and sweets were taboo.
- 1960, Rupert Croft-Cooke, The Altar in the Loft, page 210:
  I remember the grubber which smelt of potato chips and chocolate and the steam-heated library with books about monasteries that no one else seemed to look at, and I remember the fresh weedless lawns between the school buildings […]

Derived terms

Translations

One who grubs

Bulgarian: търсач (bg) m (tǎrsač)

A machine or tool

Bulgarian: култиватор (bg) m (kultivator)
Ottoman Turkish: طرمیق (tırmık)

References

Chambers's Etymological Dictionary, 1896, p. 314