spoon

be born with a silver spoon in your mouth

to be the son or daughter of a very rich family. His complete lack of concern about money is natural of someone who was born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

See also: born, mouth, silver

be spoon-fed

to be given too much help or information. When I was at school we weren't spoon-fed, we had to work things out for ourselves.

a greasy spoon (informal)

a small, cheap restaurant which mainly serves fried food of a low quality. There's a greasy spoon on the corner of his street where he usually has breakfast.

See also: greasy

the wooden spoon (British & Australian)

an imaginary prize given to the person who finishes last in a race or competition. For the second year running Ireland took the wooden spoon in the Rugby tournament.

See also: wooden

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born with a silver spoon in your mouth

to have opportunities that you did not earn but that you have from the influence of your family. Bill was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth – he came from a poor family and earned his success through hard work.

Etymology: from the idea that silver spoons were given at birth to wealthy children

See also: born, mouth, silver