Mulligrubs

[Dr. Goodword]

• mulligrubs •

Pronunciation: (UK) mê-lê-grêbz, (US) mê-li-grêbz • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, plural

Meaning: 1. Despondence, grumpiness, sullenness, bad or ill-tempered mood. 2. Upset stomach, colic, diarrhea.

Notes: This word seems to be regional, used in older dialects in Alabama but not in North Carolina, where I grew up. It is a pluralis tantum "plural always" noun, even though the number is not limited to two as are most others pants, glasses. pliers.

In Play: Mulligrubs cause grumpiness: "I'll come back when you get over your mulligrubs; we can't talk when you're this way." It can also refer to stomach problems or just feeling out of sorts: "The king is laid up with the mulligrubs and will countenance no audiences today."

Word History: Today's Good Word seems to be a compound consisting of mully + grub, but most etymological dictionaries give up on tracing its origins. In fact, mully-grub goes back to the 18th if not the 17th century. It referred to an insect larva that feeds on meal. In fact, mully is an obsolete adjective meaning "mealy, moldy, powdery", which makes sense for a grub that feeds on meal. Assuming that mully is a corruption of moldy (British mouldy), mold comes from PIE mele-/mole- "grind, mill", which relates it to mill and meal, Latin molere "to grind", Russian molot' "to grind", Albanian miell "flour", and Lithuanian malti "to grind". Grub descended from Old English grubban "to dig in the earth", akin to grave, gravel and grovel, Russian grob "grave", Latin crypta "crypt, vault", Lithuanian grebti "to rake, scratch", and Latvian grebt "to carve". (Now a word of thanks to Anna Jung for sharing this odd Good Word that caught her ear every time her beloved father, born in Birmingham, Alabama, uttered it.)

[George Kovac]

Mulligrubs is a more colorful synonym for dyspepsia, featured as a GoodWord back in 2017. Interestingly, dyspepsia was suggested by a reader from North Carolina, while Alabama is mulligrubs territory. (BTW, reread the discussion under dyspepsia. It seems this country has been suffering chronic mulligrubs or dyspepsia since at least 2016.)

[David Myer]

I think I can safely say that this word is never used in Australia. Certainly we have mealy grubs - although the scourge is generally blamed here on weevil moths and grubs. Interestingly they are voracious eaters here. Every larder seems to have them and so does every wardrobe although these are called clothes moths. I think they are pretty much the same animal. And this year they have taken an interest in the woollen carpets around the house - mine and all the neighbours and presumably wider still. It is enough to make me dyspeptic.

[David Myer]

Woops! I stand corrected yet again. Mulligrubs is used in Australia. In fact it was the name of a children's TV show that ran from 1988 to 1996. I have just checked on YouTube and been appalled at everything about the show, so I won't give you the link. Why do people think they will appeal to children when they distort their voice and make baby noises? It strikes me as patronising and offensive. Surely children find it so. Or am I just a cranky curmudgeon?

[Debbymoge]

David, if that is curmudgeonly, long live the curmudgeons of the earth--may they thrive and prosper!