scrub

A scrub, in slang, is a guy with nothing going for him who still expects attention: no money, no plans, no effort, plenty of nerve. TLC’s 1999 hit “No Scrubs” made the word famous. In gaming, a scrub is a weak player.

What scrub means

In the TLC sense, a scrub is a man who wants your time but brings nothing to the table and doesn’t seem bothered about it. It’s less about money than effort: a scrub won’t even try.

In gaming and sports, scrub means a weak or unskilled player, or a benchwarmer who isn’t on the first team. Merriam-Webster lists “a player not belonging to the first string” and “a person of insignificant size or standing” among its meanings, and both slang uses grow naturally out of those.

Examples

• “He wants to date me but won’t even split a coffee. Total scrub.”
• “Don’t be a scrub. Make a plan for Friday.”
• “I got matched with a team of scrubs and still somehow lost.”

Where it came from

The older senses, a person of little standing or a reserve player, are long established. Then came “No Scrubs.” Released by TLC in February 1999 as the lead single from FanMail and written by Kevin “She’kspere” Briggs, Kandi Burruss and Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, it spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won two Grammys. Wikipedia credits it with popularizing the slang term worldwide.

Related terms

• Red flag: a warning sign in a partner.
• Wasteman: the London word for a useless person.
• The ick: a sudden turn-off.
• Noob: a beginner, in gaming.

More throwback words are in our 90s slang guide.