1889. Referee, 6 Jan. They never did think there was any real grit about him.
1890. Scribner, Feb., 242. ‘Looks like he got grit, don’t it?’ Lige muttered.
1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 249. I am as full of grit and work as ever, and just tower above our troubles.
2. (Canadian political).—A member of the Liberal party.
Gritty, adj. (American).—Plucky; courageous; resolute; full of character.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 106. There never was a grittyer crowd congregated on that stream.
Grizzle, verb. (colloquial).—To fret. Also to grizzle one’s guts.
1872. Miss Braddon, To the Bitter End, ch. xvi. ‘If the locket’s lost, it’s lost,’ she said philosophically; ‘and there’s no use in grizzling about it.’
Grizzle-guts (or Grizzle- or Glum-pot). subs. (common).—A melancholy or ill-tempered person; a sulkington (q.v.).
Groaner, subs. (old).—A thief plying his trade at funerals or religious gatherings.