Example: You should take his story with a grain of salt.
Definition
"To take something with a grain of salt" means to view a statement or claim with skepticism or doubt, not fully accepting it as true without further evidence or consideration. It suggests cautious acceptance rather than outright belief.
Translations
tomar algo con reservas
iets met een korreltje zout nemen
prendre-ho amb reserves
prendre avec des pincettes
mit Vorsicht genießen
Etymology
The phrase "to take something with a grain of salt" originates from ancient times, possibly from Pliny the Elder's writings, where a grain of salt was believed to counteract poison. Over time, it evolved to mean accepting something cautiously or with skepticism, as if the salt mitigates the 'poison' of misinformation.
Learn to use this expression actively
"To take something with a grain of salt" appears in the Vocaplus list "English - General - Idioms and Proverbs - (C2) - set 1", containing 106 commonly used expressions.
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