Diarmuid: I am very happy today Feifei. Why? Because I had my breakfast at my local greasy spoon this morning.
Feifei: Greasy spoon? 油膩的勺子?這是什么意思,I don't understand. How could you have breakfast at a greasy spoon?
Diarmuid: Because greasy spoon is a slang phrase.
Feifei: Slang 俚語。 Greasy spoon 是一個俚語短語。
Diarmuid: Yes, greasy spoon is slang.
Feifei: So what does it mean?
Diarmuid: A greasy spoon is a name for café that serves cheap meals.
Feifei: 我明白了,原來 a greasy spoon is a café 就是一個廉價便利小吃店,這個小店里的吃的要比一般飯館兒的價錢便宜很多。I have seen lots of these kinds of cafes around Britain but I didn’t know they were called greasy spoons.
Diarmuid: Yes, greasy spoons are very common in the UK. You can find them everywhere.
Feifei: But why are they called greasy spoons? 用這個名字來形容一個小吃店好像有點兒不妥吧?
Diarmuid: People probably call these cafes greasy spoons because the food they serve there is nearly always fried food.
Feifei: 油炸食品 fried food.
Diarmuid: Yes, I suppose it's a kind of joke. The fried food served in the café is so oily, or greasy, that even the spoons are greasy.
Example:
A: Where shall we go for lunch? There’s a new health-food restaurant near here.
B: I don't really want to eat salad and vegetables.
A: Ok, let’s go to the greasy spoon for a fry-up.
B: Mmm, that sounds great. I’m going to have sausage and chips.
Feifei: You know, eating at a greasy spoon doesn't sound very healthy to me.
Diarmuid: I think you're probably right there. You shouldn't eat at a greasy spoon every day.
Feifei: 每天都吃油炸食品對身體是非常不好的。
Diarmuid: Mmm, the problem is the food from a greasy spoon tastes good to me.
Feifei: I know. Why does unhealthy food always taste so good?
Diarmuid: That's a question for another day Feifei. For now it's time to go.
Feifei: If you want to learn more Authentic Real English, just visit our website.