Yeah the gravel grinder term always made me cock my head a bit since the idea was to sit and spin so weight is on the rear and you don't lose traction.
But I guess more grinding was done 15 years ago before wide range gearing became readily available. At the same time, triples were quite common then so there is that.
Maybe it's just alliteration in the end.
As for monstercross, that pretty much died out after a short life. Sucks, since I have a frame literally called the Monstercross. If you get your way it will be nameless!