grotty

Etymology

A clipping of grotesque plus -y, and a piecewise doublet of grody, its American equivalent. Compare Middle English groti, grooti ("slimy, muddy"), from Old English grotiġ ("earthy, dirty") (surviving in modern dialectal English as groaty, and in Scots as grotty), equivalent to groat and -y. Compare also Scottish Gaelic grod ("rotten, lousy, terrible") and Middle Irish grot ("bitter, sour"). The word was originated or popularised by the 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, starring the Beatles and written by Alun Owen.