The term 'scrubber' is a word that arose largely in the North of England in the 80s/90s, (although it still enjoys some currency today) to refer to a certain type of person, either believed to be a member of a social demographic which the speaker terms 'scrubbers', or to personify 'scrubberish-ness' or 'scrubber-dom.' Certain sources (not referenced because of profanity) associate the concept with Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England, from where it became widespread.