Dictionary

grindy en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈɡɹaɪndi/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From grind + -y.

Meanings

1. (informal) Resembling or characteristic of grinding.
   • a grindy noise
   • The songwriting is a bit more grindy than I recall on their other releases, but I’m into that anyway. 2004 fall–winter, Brian, “Solid Decline / Strong Intention – split EP”, in Profane Existence: Making Punk a Threat Again!, number 46, Minneapolis, Minn.: Profane Existence, →ISSN, page 81, column 1:
   • I head for the door, but instantly the bumping, gurgling diesel sound gets louder, grindier, it becomes more frantic, and I do too. 2008, Chris Lynch, “Game On”, in The Big Game of Everything, New York, N.Y.: HarperTeen, →ISBN, page 264:
   • [T]he gun had stopped firing and started making a horrible grinding noise and burping out thick, stinky smoke. […] The grinding got grindier. 2016, Alan Brough, “The Explosion”, in Charlie and the War Against the Grannies, Sydney, N.S.W.: Pan, →ISBN, page 262:
   • And “Old P” had stuck, for the whole of the year that Tony had had her, as her grinding day by day got grindier and her spluttering splutterier. 1986, H[enry] R[eymond] F[itzwalter] Keating, “Old P”, in Ellery Queen’s Prime Crimes, Secaucus, N.J.: Castle, published 1988, →ISBN, page 352:
2. (informal) Involving a lot of repetition in order to progress.
   • [T]he student may have sufficient time to spend hours on even the ‘grindiest’ of games or, elsewhere, the mundanities of working life intervene. 2011, Dave Randall, “All in the Game: Families, Peer Groups and Game Playing in the Home”, in Richard Harper, editor, The Connected Home: The Future of Domestic Life, London: Springer, →ISBN, Part II (Experiencing the Connected Home), page 129:
   • HGM’s writers have spent time in the grindiest of grindy Korean and Japanese free-to-plays, but Free Realms is something new and different and better. 2009 June, Lynxara [pseudonym; Alicia Ashby], Vivek Varadarajan, “Free Realms”, in Hardcore Gamer Magazine, volume 5, number 1, [Redmond, Wash.]: DoubleJump Publishing, →ISSN, page 12:
   • Greed will get players to do interesting things. They will grind their way through the grindiest MMOs to get that stronger sword, that unique hat, gain that next level. 2010, Scott Rogers, “More Wealth Than You Can Imagine!”, in Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley, →ISBN, Level 13 (Now You’re Playing with Power), page 365:
   • Some players seem to think that grindy content has been put in on purpose to pad out play […] 2015, Richard A. Bartle, MMOs from the Inside Out:
   • Beware, as these achievements can feel “grindy” unless there is a worthwhile reward attached. 2012, Scott Rogers, Swipe This!: The Guide to Great Touchscreen Game Design:

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