E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Grub Street.
Since 1830 called Milton Street, near Moorfields, London, once famous for literary hacks and inferior literary productions. The word is the Gothic graban (to dig), whence Saxon grab (a grave) and groep (a ditch). (See Dunciad, i. 38, etc.)
