grips n.2
sideburns; thus gripper, one who has sideburns.
 | OnLine Dict. of Playground Sl. 🌐 grips, gripper n. (1) sideburns (or any facial/cheek hair that doesn’t quite form a beard). The term was a contraction of ‘bugger-grips’ as they were something to hang on to while in the act. By definition, anyone who had sideburns then became a ‘gripper’. |