A greasy spoon is a small, especially cheap, sometimes unsanitary, archetypal working-class restaurant or diner, that typically specialises in fried foods. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the colloquial term originated in the United States, and is now used in various English-speaking countries.
The name "greasy spoon" is used to imply a less-than-rigorous approach to hygiene and dishwashing, and appears in use in the early 20th century. The term greasy spoon has been used to refer to a "small cheap restaurant" since 1925.
Read more about Greasy Spoon: United States, United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the words greasy and/or spoon:
“When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail;
When blood is nipped, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl:
Tu-whit, tu-whoo!—
A merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A spoon does not know the taste of soup, nor a learned fool the taste of wisdom.”
—Welsh proverb.