grotty
/ˈɡrɒti
/adjective (grottier, grottiest) British informal
1Unpleasant and of poor quality: a grotty little hotel...
- ‘It has shown it has an ability to bounce back from the bad old days of high unemployment and poor education and a grotty town centre,’ he said.
- What a contrast it was to get back to our grotty hotel after such a glitzy day.
- There's damage here as far as the eye can see… holes in walls, fittings ripped off, filthy kitchens, grotty toilets, rubbish everywhere.
2 [as complement] Unwell: I felt grotty and had to leave early...
- I'm feeling pretty grotty today, still sick with a cold.
- I am feeling pretty grotty about the whole thing at the moment.
- First of all, I'm off work with some sort of ‘flu bug, feeling extremely grotty.
Derivatives
grottiness
- She smiled faintly as we described its peppery grottiness.
- It's an early attempt at mythologising the harsh urban grottiness of the built environment of a gigantic city and juxtaposing it with the image of a young woman.
- I have tremendously fond memories of the Free Trade Hall, despite its general grottiness, and its poor acoustics.
Origin
1960s: from grotesque + -y1.