grovel

1. To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often

used transitively with "over" or "through". "The file

scavenger has been groveling through the /usr directories for

10 minutes now." Compare grind and crunch. Emphatic

form: "grovel obscenely".

2. To examine minutely or in complete detail. "The compiler

grovels over the entire source program before beginning to

translate it." "I grovelled through all the documentation,

but I still couldn't find the command I wanted."

[Jargon File]