spoon

Less common meanings

4. 4
   cuddle closeverbcolloquialtransitive or intransitive

   To lie nestled front-to-back against another person, each body following the other's curves like stacked spoons.

   On chilly evenings they like to spoon under the blankets.

   She spooned him gently until he drifted off.

   Similarcuddle, snuggle, nestle

   Note

   By extension it can also mean having sex in the same position. In a casual remark about cuddling, the surrounding words usually make the innocent meaning clear.

5. 5
   fishing lurenouncountable

   A metal fishing lure whose concave shape resembles the bowl of a tablespoon.

   She tied a silver spoon to her line and cast toward the weeds.

   Anglers often switch to a heavier spoon in fast-moving water.

   Note

   What matters to anglers is how the lure moves. As it is retrieved, the concave metal wobbles and flashes, imitating a small injured fish to draw predatory species. The same lure gives its name to the fishing verb, as in spooning along a rocky shoreline for trout. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • A retrieved spoon lure wobbles and flashes, imitating injured baitfish to attract predatory fish. dnr.maryland.gov
   • The fishing verb spoon refers to fishing with a spoon lure. en.wiktionary.org
6. 6
   energy unitnounslangcountable

   A notional unit of the limited physical and mental energy a person can spend on daily tasks, a concept used especially by people with chronic illness or disability.

   Each social event costs her several spoons, so she plans her week carefully.

   He budgets one spoon for the commute and saves the rest for work.

   UsagePeople run out of spoons or have spoons left, and tasks cost spoons: that meeting cost me two spoons.

   Note

   Chronic-illness and disability communities measure a day in spoons, after the "spoon theory" that popularized the image. Each task costs spoons, people run low on spoons or run out of them, and a healthy person still has spoons left at bedtime, as Jenny Lawson puts it in Furiously Happy (2015). Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The energy metaphor derives from spoon theory. en.wikipedia.org
   • Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy was first published in 2015. thebloggess.com
   • In Furiously Happy, Lawson describes young, healthy people having spoons remaining as they fall asleep. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   grenade levernounUScountable

   The safety lever on a hand grenade that functions as a trigger, held down until the grenade is thrown.

   The soldier held the spoon down tightly while pulling the pin.

   When he released his grip, the spoon sprang free and the fuse began to burn.

   Similarlever

   Note

   In US military usage, the spoon is the part that keeps a grenade safe. The pin holds the spring-loaded lever in place, and once the pin and any safety clip are removed, only the thrower's grip does. Releasing the grenade lets the spoon fly clear, and the striker lights the fuse. Keep the two parts distinct: the pin is pulled first, and the spoon is released last. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • In US military usage, spoon means a grenade's safety lever. safety.army.mil
   • The safety pin retains the lever against spring pressure. patents.google.com
   • This assumes any additional safety clip has also been removed; an installed clip can retain the lever after pin removal. army-knowledge-for-me.com
   • Releasing the grenade frees the lever and allows the striker to initiate the fuze. en.wikipedia.org
   • The pin and spoon are distinct components, with pin removal preceding lever release. patents.google.com
8. 8
   verbintransitive

   To fish with, or catch fish using, a concave, spoon-shaped metal lure.

   Anglers spoon for salmon where the current quickens below the falls.

   We caught three trout by spooning the deep pools below the dam.

   UsageOften spoon for a fish: they spoon for trout below the dam.

9. 9
   verbdatedintransitive

   To flirt or court someone; to behave in a romantic or amorous way.

   Do you think we spoon and do? We only talk.

   1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, Sons and Lovers

   Similarcanoodle, flirt, court, smooch, neck

   Note

   Popular memory holds it in the 1909 song "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," where spoon rhymes with moon and croon. D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers (1913) has "Do you think we spoon and do? We only talk." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • The song By the Light of the Silvery Moon was published in 1909. levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu
   • The song uses spoon in a rhyme with moon and croon. en.wiktionary.org
   • D. H. Lawrence wrote Sons and Lovers, first published in 1913. en.wikisource.org
   • The quotation occurs in Sons and Lovers; Paul Morel speaks it to his mother. en.wikisource.org
10. 10
    hit weaklyverbtransitive or intransitive

    To strike the ball weakly with a lifting, pushing motion rather than a clean, audible hit.

    She spooned the approach and left it well short of the hole.

    Nervous players tend to spoon into the net when an easy volley comes their way.

    UsageOften with where the ball went: spoon it into the net, spoon an approach short.

    Similarscoop, fluff

    Note

    The same fault goes by this name in tennis, golf and croquet: the ball is pushed upward rather than struck, so it rises softly and travels weakly. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • In tennis, golf and croquet, spooning means hitting the ball weakly with a lifting push rather than a distinct strike. en.wiktionary.org
11. 11
    nounarchaic

    A golf club with a wooden head and moderate loft, comparable to today's fairway wood.

    Note

    An archaic club name from golf's wooden-headed era, the spoon sat between the brassie and the shorter scoring clubs. A modern golfer would reach for a fairway wood to do the same job. The word therefore belongs mostly to the history of the game, to collectors of vintage clubs, and to players who still use traditional clubs. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The spoon was a historical wooden club with more loft than a brassie, preceding shorter-range clubs. en.wikipedia.org
    • A modern fairway wood serves the corresponding role. golfcollege.edu
    • The name survives in present-day play with traditional clubs: Louisville Golf currently offers playable spoons and describes their use from the fairway and tee. louisvillegolf.com
12. 12
    nounarchaicfiguratively

    A foolish, simple-minded person.

    To get all the advantages of being with men of this sort, you must know how to draw your inferences and not be a spoon who takes things literally.

    1872, George Eliot, Middlemarch

    Note

    George Eliot's Middlemarch (1871–1872) warns against being "a spoon who takes things literally": someone too simple to draw the right inferences. The word is archaic now, and most listeners would take it for the utensil. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • George Eliot wrote Middlemarch. gutenberg.org
    • The quoted wording occurs in Middlemarch and describes someone who fails to draw inferences. gutenberg.org
13. 13
    nouncolloquial

    A dental instrument with a rounded, scooped working end, used to remove decayed material from a tooth.
14. 14
    nounslang

    An oar, in the slang of rowers.
15. 15
    noun

    A South African shrub belonging to the genus Spatalla.