Green’s Dictionary of Slang

ill-tempered, sour.

1895		J.S. Wood Yale Yarns 95: I have never danced. I’ve sat out and yawned ‘graveyards’ and looked grouchy. [Ibid.] 101: Plain Elizabeth Smith [...] wanders about the yard with her grouchy brother.
1905		H. Green Actors’ Boarding House (1906) 101: Adelbert became grouchy.
1913		J. London Valley of the Moon (1914) 173: Aw, what’s the use of gettin’ grouched?
1917		R. Lardner Gullible’s Travels 115: The Missus seemed to of lost her appetite and just set there lookin’ grouchy and tappin’ her fingers on the table-cloth.
1922		S. Lewis Babbitt (1974) 74: Oughtn’t to get grouchy like I do.
1934		A. Halper Foundry 49: He was tired and grouchy.
1948		J. Evans Halo For Satan (1949) 167: And grouchy, too!
1950		Hull Dly Mail 8 June 8/8: I was a grouchy old devil, full of rheumatism.
1961		F. Kohner Gidget Goes Hawaiian 58: What’s eating you? [...] You’re grouchy.
1975		J. Carr Bad (1995) 198: He was sleepy and I was grouchy.
1982		P. Theroux London Embassy 133: The cats were spoiled and over weight and grouchy.
1993		R. Doyle Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha 206: He became grouchy and dangerous.
2000		Indep. Rev. 12 May 10: Their grouchy alcoholic dad.
2005		L. Theroux Call of the Weird (2006) 27: Bob seemed frazzled and I was grouchy.