Definition of "greasy spoon" [greasy spoon]

• Slang A small, inexpensive, often unsanitary restaurant. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Something grabbier was needed, which is why a couple of noontimes later he was occupying a counter stool at Bella's, the greasy spoon nearest to Gus Benjamin's business, Planet Glass, located in the auto-repair district in the far West Fifties."
• "A remembrance of a shuttered greasy spoon on Cermak Road."
• "Not feeling strongly about it one way or the other, Megan acquiesced, and the friends drove to Hanksville for gas and a hamburger and milk shake at a greasy spoon called Stan’s."