Meaning: A cheap – maybe dirty – American restaurant.

Examples:

We stopped to eat at a greasy spoon and it wasn’t too bad.

The restaurant was very fancy. Definitely not a greasy spoon.

Cheap restaurants are often called greasy spoons because maybe they don’t do a very good job washing the silverware.

Pop Quiz:

What kind of food might a greasy spoon serve?

A.  Hamburgers and fries

B.  Caviar

C.  Tofu fried rice

To see the correct answer, click on “Continue reading”:

The correct answer is A.  Hamburgers and fries are relatively cheap American food, while caviar is very expensive and tofu fried rice is probably served at an Asian restaurant.