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grotty

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grotty¹

Rhymes with -ɒti

Where it comes from

Clipping of grotesque + -y. Piecewise doublet of grody, the American equivalent. Compare Middle English groti, grooti (“slimy, muddy”), from Old English grotiġ (“earthy, dirty”) (modern dialectal English groaty, Scots grotty), which is equivalent to groat + -y. Compare also Scottish Gaelic grod (“rotten, lousy, terrible”), Middle Irish grot (“bitter, sour”).

Originated or popularised by the 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, starring the Beatles and written by Alun Owen.

adjective grottier · grottiest

  1. Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang Unpleasant, dirty, slovenly or offensive. George: I wouldn't be seen dead in them. They're dead grotty. Simon: Grotty? George: Yeah, grotesque.

    Similar: grody, gross, gro

grotty²

Rhymes with -ɒti

Where it comes from

See groaty.

adjective grottier · more grotty · grottiest · most grotty

  1. alternative Alternative form of groaty

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MLA

"grotty." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/grotty. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

grotty. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/grotty

Chicago

"grotty." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/grotty.

BibTeX
@misc{grotty_2026,
  title = {grotty},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/grotty},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}