First order? Save 5% - FIRST5 close
Bri

Stupid question but uh…?

What does the phrase “Take it with a grain of salt” mean?

Top 8 Answers
Runs with Scissors

Favorite Answer

There are several explanations as to the origins of the phrase “take it with a grain of salt” and it’s interesting that you use the word “grain” in your question, I usually use “pinch” however the phrase has the same meaning:

“To “take something with a grain of salt,” of course, means to not entirely believe a story, or to view it with a healthy degree of skepticism. It doesn’t mean that you think the person recounting the story is completely crazy or making it all up. It just means you don’t want to be close enough to get caught under the net his keepers are fixing to drop on him.

It’s actually a translation of the Latin phrase “*** grano

salis.” There seems to be a bit of a debate about the significance of the Latin phrase, however. Etymologist Christine Ammer traces it to Pompey’s discovery, recorded by Pliny in 77 A.D., of an antidote to poison which had to be taken with a small amount of salt to be effective. Everyone else seems to bypass that explanation and trace

“with a grain of salt” to the dinner table, where a dash of salt can often make uninspired cooking more palatable. “With a grain of salt” first appeared in English in 1647, and has been in constant use since

then.”

1

guitargirl252
If you shake a salt shaker just one time, look at how many grains of salt you get. ALOT. A grain of salt is not worth all that much until you have a lot together. Example: If advice is given to you and you follow that saying…..remember the advice but join it together with lots of others so it can help you decide.
0

cigarandawaffle2003
If someone says something (or does something) to you that may be perceived as hurtful, to take it with a grain of salt means to “not let it bother you”, or take it as “not being as big of a deal as it might seem”
0

Anonymous
It means you cant take it to the bank..It means whatever that person said… it does not mean anything.. the information is either not important or it can not be trusted.
0

dancingelf1988
To remain cynical about what you may hear. If a story or a fact sounds too good to be true, you may want to check your source and cross-reference it before you place your faith in it.
1

SundanceKid
Isn’t it ” Take It with a Pinch of Salt” ?
0

?
Not much under some circumstances.
0

Anonymous
dont no this is my interpritation: dont always belive wat u hear straight away without taking a different view on the subject
0

Give your grades a lift Order