What is "grub street"

Grub \Grub\, n.

1. (Zo["o]l.) The larva of an insect, especially of a beetle; -- called also grubworm. See Illust. of Goldsmith beetle, under Goldsmith.

   Yet your butterfly was a grub.
   --Shak.

2. A short, thick man; a dwarf. [Obs.]
   --Carew.

3. Victuals; food. [Slang]
   --Halliwell.

   Grub ax or Grub axe, a kind of mattock used in grubbing up roots, etc.

   Grub breaker. Same as Grub hook (below).

   Grub hoe, a heavy hoe for grubbing.

   Grub hook, a plowlike implement for uprooting stumps, breaking roots, etc.

   Grub saw, a handsaw used for sawing marble.

   Grub Street, a street in London (now called Milton Street), described by Dr. Johnson as ``much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet.'' As an adjective, suitable to, or resembling the production of, Grub Street.

   I 'd sooner ballads write, and grubstreet lays.
   --Gap.

Until the early 19th century, Grub Street was a street close to London's impoverished Moorfields district that ran from Fore Street east of St Giles-without-Cripplegate north to Chiswell Street. Famous for its concentration of impoverished ' hack writers', aspiring poets, and low-end publishers and booksellers, Grub Street existed on the margins of London's journalistic and literary scene. It was pierced along its length with narrow entrances to alleys and courts, many of which retained the names of early signboards. Its bohemian society was set amidst the impoverished neighbourhood's low-rent flophouses, brothels, and coffeehouses.

According to Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, the term was "originally the name of a street... much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet." Johnson himself had lived and worked on Grub Street early in his career. The contemporary image of Grub Street was popularised by Alexander Pope in his Dunciad.

The street name no longer exists, but Grub Street has since become a pejorative term for impoverished hack writers and writings of low literary value.

Grub Street is Towson University's arts and literary magazine. Published yearly, the magazine features the writings and artwork of Towson students and others in the community. The magazine is nationally recognized and has won many awards given by the Columbia Press Association. It is available free of charge at locations on the Towson University campus.

The magazine is named after " Grub Street", a former street in London's impoverished Moorfields district. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the street was famous for its concentration of mediocre, impoverished 'hack writers', aspiring poets, and low-end publishers and booksellers, who existed on the margins of the journalistic and literary scene. Grub Street's bohemian, impoverished literary scene was set amidst the poor neighborhood's low-rent flophouses, brothels, and coffeehouses.

The popular horror novelist Ronald Malfi had published some of his early stories in Grub Street while attending Towson University.

Grub Street may refer to:

• Grub Street, a street in London's Moorfields district, and one-time home to impoverished "hack writers"
• Grub Street (literary magazine), a magazine from Towson University, Maryland, USA
• Grub Street, an online food news outlet of New York Magazine
• Grub Street, Staffordshire - a settlement in Staffordshire, England
• Grub Street Productions, an American TV production company
• Grub Street (online), at grubstreet.com, a New York Magazine online venture
• GrubStreet, a writer's workshop in Boston, Massachusetts