The act of complaining in an irritable or bad-tempered way about something.
From 'grouch,' which entered English in the late 1800s, likely from Yiddish 'grogn' meaning to grumble or complain. The -ing suffix transforms the verb into its continuous form.
Grouching became especially popular in American English during the early 1900s—it perfectly captures that specific kind of low-level, ongoing complaint that's different from angry shouting; it's the sound of someone perpetually dissatisfied.
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