greasy spoon

American  

noun

Slang.

1. a cheap and rather unsanitary restaurant.

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greasy spoon British  

noun

1. slang a small, cheap, and often unsanitary restaurant, usually specializing in fried foods

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greasy spoon Idioms  

1. A cheap restaurant, especially one serving short-order fried foods. For example, College students short of cash tend to eat a lot in that greasy spoon. This expression also implies that the restaurant is not very clean. [c. 1900]

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Etymology

Origin of greasy spoon

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25