grovel

vi. 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.

