A Word on Vocabulary #30: Groke

You know those people who are always hungry? Their guts are like bottomless pits. What about the friends and family members who take food from your plate at dinnertime? Or your girlfriend who adamantly said she didn’t want any takeaway, but then steals your fries? Or that one friend who never buys popcorn at the cinemas, but whose hand is always pilfering your popcorn box? But what about the people who don’t take action, but instead wait patiently, yet insistently, for you to offer them some food. You can see them pleading with their eyes. They’re being a groke.

Meaning: someone who stares intensely at you while you eat, silently hoping you will give them some of your food.

Origin: Scottish, though it has fallen into disuse.