Dirty, messy, or looking worn-out and dingy; having a dull, soiled, or unkempt appearance.
Origins are obscure but likely 1960s-70s slang, possibly onomatopoetic from 'grunt' or a blend word; exploded into mainstream vocabulary during the grunge music movement of the 1990s, particularly with Seattle bands.
Grungy's explosion in the 1990s is a perfect example of how music subcultures can make entire languages shift—Nirvana and Pearl Jam didn't just create songs, they created a whole aesthetic that changed what 'cool' meant and gave us permanent new words.
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