Past tense of grubstake; provided with money or supplies in exchange for a share of future profits.
From 'grubstake' (verb), past tense formed by adding -ed suffix to the verb form that emerged from the noun 'grubstake' in the late 1800s.
The transformation from noun to verb shows how practical American slang grows—miners used 'grubstake' as a noun, then started saying 'I was grubstaked,' and the word proved so useful it stuck!
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