gull-groper

noun · 17th century

A marvelous way to describe someone who lacks table manners without resorting to modern boredom.

A slang term for a person who eats in a greedy, unrefined, or voracious manner.

In the wild

“The guest at the far end of the table was such a gull-groper that not a crumb remained.”

Origin

An early modern compound suggesting one who gropes for food like a greedy fledgling bird.