gronk

n. a general term of derogation for a man, especially one considered weak, stupid, or brutish. Subjects: English, Australia, Derogatory, Slang

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Citations: 1987 R. Gibson Courier-Mail (Australia) (June 17) “Nine Double-Header On Crime And Corruption”: They talk about the “gronks”—those prisoners who don’t shower or carry any personal dignity. 1987 Michael Cordell, Bernard Lagan Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (Nov. 21) “Inside Our Jails”: Alexander was labelled a “gronk”—young, slow, and an easy target for sex. According to Steve, a 30-year-old who served four years in jail for more than 10 bank robberies, “a gronk is someone who can’t flow with the normal stretch, they’re a bit slow on it or whatever.” 1999 John Stapleton The Australian (Mar. 24) “Where the final price is high indeed” p. 14: Those were the days when myth said heroin was just another drug, a creative juice, before methadone and dereliction, before decent people turned into evil little gronks, before so many talented people died. 1999 Adele Horin Sydney Morning Herald (Apr. 21) “Giving It The Hard Cell” p. 17: In a letter Armytage later wrote to the then Minister for Juvenile Justice, Faye Lo Po,” he listed examples of the racial abuse the youths alleged they had been subjected to. “You black c—, you got no ticker.” “Come on, you black gronk, hit me.” And “Shut up, you black mutt.” 2002 MX (Melbourne, Australia) (July 2) “Language grows as teens go sik” p. 9: Today, anything that is cool is sik while a gronk is someone who might previously have been called an idiot. 2002 Peter Brala @ West Pennant Hills Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia) (July 4) “Teenage Vernacular” p. 28: The work “gronk” does not have its genesis in ethnic youth. I first encountered this term while working as a psychologist in the NSW prison system in the mid-1980s. This term has gained a more widespread usage since then. 2004 The_Brick Wanna Be Big Bodybuilding and Weightlifting Forums (Mar. 1) “Gronk in the gym rant”: In Australia the term “gronk” was originally used to describe prison innmates. Now the term is used to describe wannabe mamas boy thugs, derrelicts and general idiocy in people. Anyway I was at the gym which I have been a member of since it opened, where I know almost every hardcore trainer including the manager and staff when this gronk tried to “own” me. 2004 Niyi Awofeso Journal of Mundane Behavior (Millersville, Pa.) (June) “Prison argot and penal discipline”: Not unexpectedly therefore, most argot terms relating to prison health workers had unflattering connotations. For instance, the argot term “gronk” is remains [sic] in current use in Australian prisons in describing health workers perceived as insensitive to prisoners’ health and welfare interests. 2004 Lara Zamiatin Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (Oct. 31) “The House of Gronk”: Delaveris was immediately hooked on prison lingo—and particularly taken with one word, “gronk,” which has myriad meanings. In prison parlance, it’s a derogatory term for inmates used by prison guards. Linguists, however, are divided. Some suggest it means “sex slave”; others say that it refers to a Neanderthal or a brutish person with limited intellect. But no matter how many uncomplimentary descriptions can be dug up, Gronk is now the name of a fledgling fashion label.

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