Surly, unpleasant in appearance.
1640. The King replyed nothing, but Look’d very grum.—‘Lismore Papers’ (1888), iv. 46. (N.E.D.)
1670. Retaining a kind of a grum reservedness in the rest of his Actions.—Cotton, ‘Espernon,’ iii. 465. (N.E.D.)
1784. Ran away last night, an indented Irish Servant Man,…. long visage, middling sharp chin, grum downish look.—Advt., Maryland Journal, July 27.
1834. The poet, who looked gloomily, and what is vernacularly called grum.—Robert C. Sands, ‘Writings,’ ii. 187 (N.Y.).
1834. “I can manage my own affairs without advice,” replied Brownfield, grumly, and turned off to depart.—H. J. Nott, ‘Novellettes of a Traveller,’ ii. 177 (N.Y.).
1840. He stood all the time that Fog and Handy were plying him with this discourse, with his thumbs in his waistcoat pockets, looking down, with a grum cogitation, at his own image in the water of the basin.—John P. Kennedy, ‘Quodlibet,’ pp. 38–9 (1860).
1842. The sun seems extraordinarily sulky and grum.—Phila. Spirit of the Times, June 18.
1853. From over his iron-bowed spectacles, the inquisitive glance of the postmaster still peers; but he has grown unaccountably more grum, and is said by the good village people to find quite all he wants to do,—in simply minding his own business.—G. H. Hill (‘Lewis Myrtle’), ‘Cap Sheaf,’ p. 259 (N.Y.).
1854. Mr. Bird very grumly said, ‘he’d better hold in.’—H. H. Riley, ‘Puddleford,’ p. 92 (N.Y.).
1855. Codes are artificial, but mirth is natural; and although the social life of the colonies was pretty grim and pretty grum, and what with the absence of luxury, the imminence of danger, the pressure of toil, the prohibition of sports, or the inability to engage in them, life assumed a stern and serious aspect, there was still a time when the profane fiddle would squeak out.—Knick. Mag., xlvi. 451 (Nov.).
1902. Alan bolted his food in grum silence, unnoticed by the others.—W. N. Harben, ‘Abner Daniel,’ p. 256.
