grab-bag 
spoils, into which the element of uncertainty 
enters. 
It is a grab-bay from which every disappointed politi- 
cian hopes to draw a prize. 
A'ew York Tribune, Sept. 23, 1879. 
grabber (grab'er), . One who or that which 
grabs, grasps, or snatches. 
grabble (grab'l), c. <'.; pret. and pp. grabbled. 
ppr. grabbling. [= D. ijrabbelen, snatch, scram- 
ble for, = LG. (> G.) grabbeln, grope, fum- 
ble (cf. LG. gnibbeln, grope, fumble); freq. of 
grab 1 : see grabl and grub.] To grope about; 
feel with the hands ; make tentative grasps or 
clutches. 
And so [Cato] went forward at adventure, taking ex- 
tream and incredible pains, and in much danger of his 
life, grabliug all night in the dark without moonlight, 
through wild olive trees and high rocks. 
North, tr. of Plutarch, p. 284. 
He puts his hands in his Pockets, and keeps a grabling 
and a fumbling, and shaking, at last tells you he has left 
his Money at home. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 99. 
It was a new style of salmagundi ; some of the boys were 
doused into each other, some were rolled against the tree, 
some sent grabbling on their faces down the hill. 
S. Judd, Margaret, i. 17. 
grab-game (grab'gam), w. A method of swin- 
dling or theft, consisting in snatching anything 
exposed, as the stakes in gambling, or a purse, 
and making off with it To practise the grab- 
game, to raise a disturbance, as in gambling, for the sake 
of plunder. [Slang.] 
grab-hook (grab'huk), . In angling, a hook 
made by fixing four large fish-hooks in a piece 
of lead ; a pull-devil. [Colloq.] 
grab-iron (grabVeru), . One of the handles 
attached to freight-cars for the use of trainmen 
in boarding the cars. Car-Builder's Diet. 
grab-line (grab'lin), . Naut., a rope hanging 
on shipboard in such a way that it can be 
grabbed or seized if necessary. Specifically (o) 
A rope hung along a ship's side, near the water s edge, so 
that boatmen can seize and hold on to it when coming 
alongside. (6) A rope hung over a ship's side and made 
fast inboard, so that workmen outside of the ship can hold 
on to It. 
grace (gras), . [< ME. grace, grase, gras, < OF. 
grace, grasce, F. grdce = Pr. gratia, gracia, gras- 
sia = Sp. gracia = Pg. graya = It. grasia, < L. 
gratia, (pass.) favor, esteem, hence agreeable- 
ness, regard, (act. ) favor, gratitude (in pi. , per- 
sonified, Gratia;, the Graces), < gratus, (pass.) 
beloved, dear, (act.) thankful, grateful (> E. 
f/rate s ), in form a pp., = Gr. ^apr6<:, that causes 
delight, welcome, verbal adj. (pp.) of x a 'P elv , 
rejoice, > ^ap'f, favor, grace (in pi. al \dptref, 
the Graces), x a P<*, joy.] 1. That element or 
quality of form, manner, movement, carriage, 
deportment, language, etc., which renders it 
pleasing or agreeable ; elegance or beauty of 
form, outline, manner, motion, or act ; pleasing 
harmony or appropriateness ; that quality in a 
thing or an act which charms or delights : as, 
to move with easy grace. 
Grace was in all her steps. Miltm, P. L., viii. 488. 
Her purple habit sits with such a grace 
On her smooth shoulders. Dryden, r.m (. I . 
So, with that grace of hers, 
Slow-moving as a wave against the wind, . . . 
So she came in. Tennyson, Lover's Tale. 
2. pi. [cap.~\ In classical myth., the goddesses 
of the beauty, brightness, and joy in nature and 
humanity. The Graces are the Charites of the Greeks, 
variously described as daughters of Helios (the Sun) and 
Aigle (heavenly brightness), or of Zeus (Jupiter) and Eu- 
rynome (daughter of Ocean the Aurora). They were 
also variously named, but their most familiar names are 
Aglaia (the brilliant), Euphrosyne (cheerfulness), and Tha- 
lia (the bloom of life). They had in their gift grace, love- 
liness, and favor, and were attendants in the train of 
Aphrodite. 
But come, thou goddess fair and free, 
In Heaven yclep'd Euphrosyne, . . . 
Whom lovely Venus at a birth, 
"With two sister Graces more, 
To ivy-crowned Bacchus bore. 
Milton, I/Allegro, 1. 15. 
The Muses and the Graces, group'd in threes, 
Enring'd a billowing fountain. 
Tennyson, Princess, ii. 
3. Amenity of disposition or manner; sweet- 
ness or amiability ; graciousness ; politeness ; 
courtesy; civility: as, to yield with good grace. 
It is a .. 
cions which is absolutely 1 
Spenser, State of Ireland. 
Not a man of you 
Had so much grace [as] to put it in my mind. 
Sha*., Rich. III., ii. 1. 
4. )>l. A kind of play or game designed to ex- 
hibit or develop easy gracefulness in motion. 
One player, by means of two sticks held one In each hand. 
at grace in a prince, to take that with condi- 
1 her owne. 
2587 
throws a small hoop to another, who endeavors to catch 
it on two similar sticks, and then to throw it back in the 
same way. 
5. A pleasing and attractive quality or endow- 
ment; beauty; adornment; embellishment. 
An ornament that yieldeth no small grace to a roome. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 186. 
Chastity, good-nature, and affability are the graces that 
play in her countenance. Steele, Spectator, No. 4. 
From vulgar bounds with bold disorder part, 
And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 153. 
Every grace that plastic language knows 
To nameless poets its perfection owes. 
O. W. Holmes, Poetry. 
6. In music, an embellishment, whether vocal 
or instrumental, not essential to the harmony 
or melody of a piece, such as an appoggiatura, 
a trill, a turn, etc. Such embellishments were much 
more common in music for the harpsichord and the viol 
than they are for modern instruments ; their exact form 
and even the place of their introduction were often left in 
the eighteenth century to the taste of the performer. 
7. Favor; goodwill; friendship; favorable dis- 
position to another; favorable regard: as, to 
be in one's good graces; to reign by the grace of 
God. 
I suld not attempe thus to commoune, 
Bot of ther grace, correctioune, and pardoune. 
Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra ser.), i. 101. 
"Certes" (sayd he) "I n'ill thine offred grace, 
Ne to be made so happy doe intend." 
Spenser, F. Q., II. vii. 33. 
Your majesty's high grace to poesy 
Shall stand 'gainst all the dull detractions 
Of leaden souls. B. Jonson, Poetaster, v. 1. 
Victoria, By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom 
of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the 
Faith, Empress of India. Burke's Peerage. 
8. An act of kindness or favor accorded to or 
bestowed on another; a good turn or service 
freely rendered. 
And whanne twei gheeris werin flllid Felix took a succes- 
sour Porcius Festus, and Felix wolde give grace to lewis, 
and left Poul boundun. Wyclif, Acts xxiv. 27 (Oxf.). 
To othere, that asken him grace, suche as nan served him, 
he ne zevethe not but his Signet. 
Mandemlle, Travels, p. 82. 
This was a peculiar grace, not allowed to any but per- 
sons of the highest rank. Swift, Gulliver's Travels, iii. 9. 
Do me grace in sitting by my side. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 157. 
0. A faculty, license, or dispensation bestowed 
by legal authority, the granting of which rests 
in discretion or favor, and is not to be asked 
as of right ; a privilege ; also, in Eng. law, a, 
general and free pardon by act of Parliament. 
Also called act of grace. 
In duke lonys house a joman ther was, 
For his rewarde prayde suche a grace ; 
The duke gete graunt ther-of in londe, 
Of the kyng his fader, I vudurstonde. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 321. 
From a scholar he became a fellow, and then the presi- 
dent of that college, after he had received all the graces 
and degrees the proctorship and doctorship could be 
obtained there. Clarendon, Great Rebellion. 
The Irish . . . accordingly offered to pay 120,000 in 
exchange for 51 privileges or graces, . . . and that a par- 
liament should be held to confirm these graces. 
W. S. Gregg, Irish Hist for Eng. Readers, p. 55. 
10. In Scrip, and theol. : (a) The free, unmer- 
ited love and favor of God: as, the doctrine 
of grace (that is, the doctrine that all things, 
including salvation, are received from God 
as a free gift, and not merited or earned by 
man). 
Shall we continue in sin, th&t grace may abound? 
Rom. vL 1. 
(ft) The enjoyment of the favor of God. 
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace 
wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 
Rom. v. 2. 
(c) Benefit, especially inward spiritual gifts, 
conferred by God through Christ Jesus; spe- 
cifically, power or disposition to yield obedi- 
ence to the divine laws, to practise the Chris- 
tian virtues, and to bear trouble or affliction 
with patience and resignation: as, grace to 
perform a duty, or to bear up under an afflic- 
tion. 
With god wllle take we the grace that God wol us sende. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2384. 
Let no coirupt communication proceed out of your 
mouth, but that which Is good to the use of edifying, that 
it may minister grace unto the hearers. Eph. iv. 29. 
lit. Virtue; power; efficacy. 
O mickle is the powerful grace that lies 
In plants, herbs, stones, and their true qualities. 
Shale., R. and J., ii. 3. 
12f. Share of favor allotted to one; lot; for- 
tune; luck. 
He had at Thebes sory grace. 
Chaucer. Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale. 1. 748. 
grace 
13. Mercy; pardon. 
Oure greuaunce for-geue we algate, 
And we graunte hym oure grace with a goode chere. 
York Plays, p. 306. 
Death is to him that wretched life doth lead 
Both grace and gaine. Spenser, F. (}., IV. vii. 11. 
Thairfoir the Gordones gaue no grace, 
Becaus they craved it nought. 
llattle of Balrinnes (Child's Ballads, VII. 228). 
14. Indulgence ; forbearance ; allowance of 
time : as, three days' grace for the payment of 
a note. 
See, the church empties apace. . . . 
Hallo, there, sacristan ! five minutes' grace ! 
Browning, Master Hugues of Saxe-Gotha. 
15. In English universities, an act, vote, or de- 
cree of the government of the institution : as, a 
grace was approved by the Senate at Cambridge 
for founding a Chinese professorship. 
In universities many ungracious graces there be gotten. 
Ti/ndale, Ana. to Sir T. More, etc. (Parker Soc., I860), p. 22. 
All Graces (as the legislative measures proposed by the 
Senate are termed) have to be submitted first to the Caput, 
each member of which has an absolute veto on the grace. 
Literary World, XII. 283. 
16f. Thanks ; thanksgiving. 
They . . . answerden ful mekely and benignely, yeld- 
ynge graces and thankinges to here lord, Melibee. 
Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus. 
Sir, now be-holde what oure lorde doth for yow, and for 
to saue youre peple, moche ought ye hym honoure and 
yelde graces with goode herte whan he thus you socoured 
and helpeth in soche nede. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 578. 
17. A formula of words expressing thanks 
and craving a blessing on or with a meal or 
refreshment; a short prayer before or after 
meals, in which a blessing is asked or thanks 
are rendered: as, to say grace; grace before 
meat. 
Lucia. I think thou never wast where grace was said. 
2 Gent. No? a dozen times at least. 
Shak., M. forM., i. 2. 
He (Job] said grace when he had no meat, when God 
gave him stones for bread, and scorpions for fish. 
Donne, Sermons, xi. 
Their Beer was strong ; their Wine was port ; 
Their Meal was large ; their Grace was short. 
Prior, An Epitaph. 
18. A title of honor formerly borne by the 
sovereigns of England, but now used only as a 
ceremonious title in speaking to or of a duke, 
a duchess, or an archbishop: as, his Grace the 
Duke of Wellington. 
How fares your Grace) Shak., 1 Hen. IV., v. 4. 
Percy, Northumberland, 
The archbishop's Grace of York, Douglas, Mortimer, 
Capitulate against us, and are up. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iii. 2. 
A Peasant. But, Sir Thomas, must we levy war against 
the Queen's Grace > 
Wya.lt. No, my friend ; war for the Queen's Grace to 
save her from herself and Philip. 
Tennyson, Queen Mary, ii. 1. 
Converting grace, grace which effects conversion. Co- 
operant grace, grace cooperating with the will of the 
believer. Covenant Of grace. See covenant of works, 
under covenant. Day of grace, in theol., the time dur- 
ing which mercy is offered to sinners. 
Life is the season God hath given 
To fly from hell and rise to heaven ; 
That day of grace fleets fast away, 
And none its rapid course can stay. 
Scotch Scripture Paraphrase. 
Days of grace, (o) In old Eng. law, days granted by 
the court for delay at the prayer of the plaintiff or defen- 
dant ; three days beyond the day named in the writ, in 
which the person summoned might appear and answer. 
(6) The period beyond the fixed day for payment allowed 
by law or custom for paying a note or bill of exchange 
In Great Britain and the United States, at common law 
three days are allowed ; but if the last day of grace falls 01 
Sunday, or any day on which business is not legally car 
ried on, the bill or note is payable on the day preceding 
Modern statutes have made some changes in these rules 
particularly as regards legal holidays immediately preced 
ing or following Sunday. Bankers checks are payable on 
demand without days of grace, and the same rule ap- 
plies to bills or notes payable on demand. Economy 
or dispensation of grace, the system or method ac- 
cording to which God dispenses his free gifts, especially 
his spiritual gifts, to man. Good graces, favor; friend- 
ship. 
What has the merchant done, that he should be so lit- 
tle in the good graces of Sir Roger? 
Steele, Spectator, No. 174. 
Indwelling grace, grace operating on the believer as a 
sanctifying power. Irresistible grace, grace indepen- 
dent of and irresistible by the human will. According 
to some theologians, grace in conversion is irresistible ; 
according to others, cooperant. Means of grace, the 
means by which divine influence is exerted on the hearts 
of men, such as the preaching of the gospel, the reading 
of Scripture, prayer, meditation, public worship, and the 
sacraments of the church. 
We bless thee ... for the means of grace, and for the 
hope of glory. 
Book of Common Praver. General Thanksgiving. 
