Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) a complaint or tedious person or thing; thus gripe session, an airing of complaints.

1927		W.R. Morse ‘Stanford Expressions’ in AS II:6 276: gripes — disgust.
1934		(con. 1920s) J.T. Farrell Young Manhood in Studs Lonigan (1936) 341: It was like losing all the gripes that had been piling up within him.
1943		Bayler & Carnes Last Man Off Wake Island 199: Material for a good gripe in that.
1957		R. Prather Always Leave ’Em Dying 25: Now that I’d had time to relax a bit, both my gripe with Trammel and my worry about Felicity were growing.
1966		P. Willmott Adolescent Boys of East London (1969) 27: Get a bit bored sometimes, I suppose, but no real gripes.
1973		Sun. Times Mag. 7 Oct. 55: Tim Mellors suggested telling people to phone in with their ‘gripes’.
1991		(con. 1920s) O.D. Brooks Legs 54: If you have any gripes, bring them to me.
2000		Guardian G2 21 Mar. 4: It’s the same gripe every day.
2010		Sun. Times Ingear19 Dec. 7/4: One gripe is that at low speedas the steering is vague.