For those of you who are familiar with Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, groke is not to be confused with Heinlein's "grok."
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According to The Little Book of Lost Words by Joe Gillard (which is a veritable feast of strange words), groke is a verb dating to the 19th century, meaning "to stare eagerly at someone who is eating, hoping they'll give you food."
Back in 2014, groke was featured as "the word of the week" in The Scotsman, which noted it was an old Scots word. (While perusing the short article I spotted some other weekly word offerings I shall have to consider for future Slang-o-rama posts. Who could resist delving into carnaptious, for instance? But I digress...) An article in The Guardian (which also includes some amazing words I shall add to my Slang-o-rama to-do list) adds, "The word was originally used to refer to dogs – and any dog owner whose canine friend has salivated beside them while they eat a steak will know why..."
Dogs, eh? What about cats? I vote for cats being groke experts, especially if tuna or salmon is involved.
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| Is that a tuna sandwich in your hand?? |
Cats rule in this department! DivaMissMia and Cricket are experts.
ReplyDeleteOh, I could use this in my little fantasy chapter book I am reading. The princess has a best friend who grokes all the time! LOL
ReplyDeleteHi Priscilla! They sure do! :-) It's good Cricket and Mia aren't living in the same household... it'd be a race to see who arrives first when the can openers are deployed. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Dani! Such a great word, eh? Would love to see it come back into use. :-)
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