Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to encroach on a person’s space, to crowd, to push forward in a crowd (cf. scrunch v.).

1755		Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. (1785) n.p.: Scruze, This word [...] is still preserved, at least in its corruption, to scrouge, in the London jargon.
1756		W. Toldervy Hist. of the Two Orphans III 198: However, Sir, said she to Richmond, (who sat very near to her) I only desires that you would not skrowdge me so, for I assure you, that I am not used to be skrowdged by any man.
1798		Aurora (Phila.) 13 Dec.: Upstairs, I scrouged to the front.
1811		Ora and Juliet III 131: I hope, Miss, I don’t scrouge you? [OED].
1823		Rambler’s Mag. 1 Mar. 132: ‘[N]ever, except on very scrudging nights, put more than three single men in a sixpenny bed’.
1824		J. Wight Mornings in Bow St. 45: She skroudged herself through the mob till she reached the brink of the grave.
1826		C.M. Westmacott Eng. Spy II 105: We should [...] be able to dine in comfort, without being scrouged up in a corner by a Leadenhall landlady.
1830		Constellation (N.Y.) 11 Sept. 2: The room was so completely crowded, that one could not have scrouged the little end of nothing, sharpened, between them.
1838		‘Nights At Sea’ in Bentley’s Misc. Apr. 596: He got scrowging again me as if he wanted to rouse me out o’ that.
1847		J.M. Field Drama in Pokerville 15: The ladies were obliged to stand up and be scrouged until chairs could be brought from the hotel.
1858		Bell’s Life in Sydney 27 Mar. 3/3: As many persons as could find places scrowged themselves into the Police Court, which presented the appearance of a ‘bumper house’.
1860		T. Haliburton Season Ticket 219: One fellow, seeing what I was at, just scrooged up again me.
1866		Wild Boys of London I 157/2: Let’s scrowge in.
1876		J. Greenwood Low-Life Deeps 67: Unhappy pairs who were being ‘scrouged’ and hustled about in the most deplorable manner.
1884		(con. c.1840) ‘Mark Twain’ Huckleberry Finn 187: Pretty soon the whole town was there, squirming and scrouging and pushing and shoving.
1886		Sporting Times 30 Jan. 6/1: Two fair old Tom Tarts, and didn’t they have a scrouging match among the stewed eels.
1895		W. Pett Ridge Minor Dialogues 67: Fer goodness’ sake, don’t scrowge so! It’s no use pushing like this.
1905		L. Pound ‘Dialect Speech in Nebraska’ in DN III:i 64: scrooge, scrowge, scrooch, v. (1) Huddle, crowd; (2) encroach in mean or petty fashion. ‘There I was, all scrooged up in a corner,’ ‘He scrowged in on the others’.
1917		E. Ferber ‘The Gay Old Dog’ One Basket (1947) 25: Jo scrooged around, still keeping his place.
1926		Wood & Goddard Dict. Amer. Sl. 46: scrooge. To worm one’s self forward, in a crowd.
1930		J.T. Farrell ‘Looking ’Em Over’ Short Stories (1937) 45: I’ll scrootch around and look ’em over myself.
1953		Randolph & Wilson Down in the Holler 281: I’ll just scrooge in here next to Miss Betsey.
1960		G. Swarthout Where the Boys Are 29: We scrooged in and he gunned us away out Atlantic Boulevard.
1979		G. Swarthout Skeletons 230: I scrooged down in my chair.

2. to push something out of the way, to squeeze a thing.

1821		Egan Life in London (1869) 194: Who’s that that scroudges? you shan’t shove my wife.
1848		J.R. Lowell Biglow Papers (1880) 81: An’ ez the North hez took to brustlin’ / At bein’ scrouged from off the roost.
1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1879		C.J. Kickham Knocknagow 459: The day that he, Jackey, and two other aspiring youths climbed to one of the high windows [...] to hear his Grace’s sermon in comfort, and, as Jackey said, without having the life ‘scroodged’ out of them.
1903		Ade People You Know 164: He put Harry in front of the Bull’s-Eye and scrooged him around.
1917		S. Lewis Job 256: ‘Sometimes a fella ‘d think, to see you scrooge up your nose when I’m shaving, that I’m common as dirt’.
1939		J. Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath (1951) 85: I’m gonna set in ’em, an’ scrooge aroun’, an’ let the juice run down my pants.
1944		L. Smith Strange Fruit 244: There’ll be lynchings as long as white folks and black folks scrouge each other–everybody scrambling for the same penny.
1961		(con. early 1950s) J. Peacock Valhalla 66: Then his cadaverous, deeply lined face scrouged up and two large tears welled up.

3. (US campus) of a teacher, to impose unpleasant tasks.

1856

B.H. Hall College Words (rev. edn) 406: scrouge. To exact; to extort; said of an instructor who imposes difficult tasks on his pupils.

4. (US) to have sexual intercourse.

1871		P.C. Van Busirk Diary vol. 9 10 Mar. q. in Jrnl Hist. Sexuality (2002) July 444: The stroke-oarsman of the Harvard Crew [...] when a boy of 10 or 12 used to ‘scrouge’ his sister and thought it altogether so nice, that he told our paymaster, then a boy of like tender years, all about it, in order to put him in the way of enjoying ‘man-and-wife’ sport with the little sister.
c.1895		Actionable Offenses ‘Slim Hadley on a Racket’ (2007) [cylinder recording ENMS 30184] ‘Well, is this one o’ them ’ere whorehouses?’ [...] ‘Oh! It’s not exactly a place of that kind, but we have ladies here [...] Won’t you come in?’ ‘Won’t I come in? Well, God damn it, d’you s’pose I’m going to scrouge out here on the doorstep? [Laughs]. Certainly I’ll come in’.