grease

We often use the words "grease" or "greasy" for the presence of a slippery or oily substance, especially in food:

• Fast food has a lot of grease in it.
• Fried chicken is greasy.

The word "greasy" is an adjective:

• It’s not a good idea to eat a lot of greasy food because it contains so much unhealthy fat.
• The pizza we ate last night was good, but it was a little greasy.
• Tom likes greasy food, like hamburgers and french fries.
• The kitchen at the diner is all greasy because of the deep-frying that they do there. (A diner is a small restaurant that specializes in fast food.)

A hamburger and french fries may taste good, but sometimes this popular food combination is a little too greasy.

Grease is a lubricating substance that reduces friction between moving parts.

• A mechanic gets a lot of grease on his hands while working on cars.
• The wheel stopped squeaking after a little grease was applied to it.

  After working on his car all day, he has some grease on his face.

• It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. (This an expression. It means that a person who complains loudly enough will get more attention paid to his or her problem.)

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March 7, 2015