I can't say how common it is, but it seems to be good slang (which is currently a popular subject): http://www.theitalianbridge.com/italian-slang.htm

Yes. The same in Portuguese ( Brasil)...Btw, we use it ONLY in the beginning..Btw2, there is a marvelous italian song called "Basta così" ( by Sergio Endrigo). This reply is about the comment of ZiggKoog.

A sugar spoon would be something like un cucchiaio da zucchero.