The Feel of a Word: grub
We all know the basic meaning of grub. It is the larva of an insect, most commonly a beetle, but it can be used generally for anything of that nature such as a caterpillar or a maggot. We can even perhaps use it for a worm although that would be a mistake. It seems that such a familiar little word should have an origin that is unknown, the best guess being that it relates to an Old Germanic word meaning ‘to dig’.
There are extended meanings that we also share in English around the world. The word is used as a mild scolding for a child who has got their clothes dirty at play or in eating messily. You little grub!, we say.
In British English of the 1700s it refers specifically to a literary hack, a drudge in the world of letters. This developed later into someone who was slovenly in his attire and uncultivated in his manners. But in Australian English for one man to call another man a grub has considerable force. It is a comment on that man’s moral worth, on the fact that they have betrayed loyalties, they have behaved in a way that contravenes common decency, they are the lowest of the low. It swiftly became a word of abuse to hurl against a man. Always a man, as far as I can see.
It was used generally in the 1950s for men of low morals who were not worthy of respect. Grubs were the partners of molls and contrasted with respectable men and women.
In the late forties and early fifties the country bars were still usually sexually limited. In the cities women and lesbians drank in the bars and ladies lingered or lolled in the lounges; but in country towns the grubs and molls met only in the saloons...ladies drank at home, seething, waiting for liberation.
Jack Rivers and Me (1981), Paul Radley
It is particularly common in political abuse. A report from journalist in 1984 says:
Having repaired to my rocking chair in the press gallery at the soothing Senate for a period of convalescence after several blood-curdling months spen reporting on the continuous Hammer film of the House of Representatives, it came as a shock to hear someone shriek “Wash your mouth out, you grub” during yesterday’s Question Time in the Senate.
In 2014 Mr Howard found himself surrounded by protestors:
A chorus of boos, shouts of “you’re a grub” and chants of “the workers united will never be defeated” follow him for several minutes…
It was also used in the context of union battles where there was a distinction between the grub and the scab. The latter crossed the picket lines to work. The grub was someone who did not join the union and yet was happy to accept the benefits of union activism in the form of pay increases or the like. This was immoral and disloyal.
The word grub became a general term of abuse with very little content but a very bad connotation.
A bit of graffiti says: My old man’s a grub.
The word is still in use in politics, sport and the media today. Alan Jones objected to the treatment he received from MediaWatch and demanded that ‘the grub who is in charge’ be dismissed. Jarred Haynes complained about ‘media grubs’ who were attacking him about his lack of fitness. Kevin Proctor, the rugby league player, in defending himself against the charge of biting said:
The people who know me know I’m not like that, they know I’m not a dirty player or a grub like everyone is trying to portray me as.’
The only dictionary that gives these meanings for grub is Macquarie Dictionary so I am assuming that this is an Australianism.