with a grain of salt
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English
Etymology
Calque of Latin cum grānō salis (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?), literally with a grain of salt, figuratively with a bit of common sense (from Pliny’s Pompey’s discovery of an antidote against poison to be taken with a grain of salt).
Pronunciation
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Adverb
with a grain of salt (not comparable)
- (idiomatic) With a little common sense and skepticism.
- I take anything I read on the Internet with a grain of salt.
- 2008, John Douglas, Johnny Dodd, Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN:
- In it, police laid out list of biographical factoids about BTK and urged residents to read it with a grain of salt. Releasing a list of his “claims,” they reasoned, might allow someone, somewhere to make a connection that police couldn't hope to.
Usage notes
- Usually appears modifying the verb take.
Coordinate terms
Translations
with common sense and skepticism