Have you ever been enjoying a meal in your favourite eatery and suddenly got the impression that someone is looking at you? You look around and see a lonely soul, perched above their soup, a look of hope and pleading in their eyes. That, gentle reader, is a groaker. To Groak is to look longingly after some wanted object, and specifically, to longingly watch someone while they eat in the hope of being invited to join them.

Etymology: Unclear, Possibly Scots or Ulster Gaelic. The word is found in Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang as both “groak” and “growk” It also shows its face in The Dictionary of the Scots Language.

“The lights in the restaurant seemed to dim. The curve of her clavicle, the bend of her neck, how her hair fell over her face; Conrad drank it all in. His schnitzel went cold as he continued to groak.”