Used to describe an old-fashioned or simple pub or bar, of a type whose floor was originally covered with sawdust.
‘The Grapes is an old-fashioned big northern pub, almost spit-and-sawdust, the type that still closes between lunchtime and the early evening.’
‘Essentially, The Irish (an unapologetically back-to-basics, spit-and-sawdust kind of joint) is the very embodiment of unchanging timelessness in a world of ever-shifting certainties.’
‘The law is about to be changed again to allow further modernisation of shops, and it is time for the few remaining spit-and-sawdust shops to go, and genuine standards of punter comfort to be imposed on all.’
‘For location scenes, fashionable bars such as the Leith Oyster Bar and the area's host of restaurants will be the backdrop rather than spit-and-sawdust bars.’
‘At any rate, the two of us ended up at the Black Cap, one of North London's more spit-and-sawdust dens of iniquity.’
‘Like a butterfly from a chrysalis, an old spit-and-sawdust pub has metamorphosed into a smart hotel with bar and restaurant.’
‘‘It's very spit-and-sawdust here,’ said gym owner Billy Murray.’
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