take it with a grain of salt
to disbelieve it
TRANSLATION
take it with a grain (pinch) of salt = mit Vorsicht zu genießen --- Google Index take it with a grain of salt = 690.000 hits take it with a pinch of salt = 521.000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
There are many claims that microwaves destroy the health benefits of fresh food, but they should be TAKEN WITH A PINCH OF SALT.
(BBC News)
(BBC News)
Did you
know?
take something with a pinch of salt
idiom
to not completely believe something that you are told, because you think it is unlikely to be true
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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According to many etymologists, the expression "take it with a pinch of salt" is based on a misunderstanding of a comment in a 2,000-year-old Latin document. Around 77 AD, the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder incorrectly translated the description for a poison antidote to mean that it should be taken with a grain of salt.
The implication was that the effects of the poison could be moderated by adding salt. In fact, the original author of the document meant that salt was just one of the ingredients of the poison (in addition to two dried walnuts, two figs and 20 leaves of rue, a type of shrub).
Despite this misunderstanding, there is still some logic to the expression. If you are skeptical about something you are being told, then figuratively speaking taking it with a pinch of salt helps to swallow or digest it.
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SYNONYMS
take it with a pinch of salt, don't believe everything you hear, view that with some skepticism
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"That data comes from an unreliable source, take it with a pinch of salt."
idiom
to not completely believe something that you are told, because you think it is unlikely to be true
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
According to many etymologists, the expression "take it with a pinch of salt" is based on a misunderstanding of a comment in a 2,000-year-old Latin document. Around 77 AD, the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder incorrectly translated the description for a poison antidote to mean that it should be taken with a grain of salt.
The implication was that the effects of the poison could be moderated by adding salt. In fact, the original author of the document meant that salt was just one of the ingredients of the poison (in addition to two dried walnuts, two figs and 20 leaves of rue, a type of shrub).
Despite this misunderstanding, there is still some logic to the expression. If you are skeptical about something you are being told, then figuratively speaking taking it with a pinch of salt helps to swallow or digest it.
---
SYNONYMS
take it with a pinch of salt, don't believe everything you hear, view that with some skepticism
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"That data comes from an unreliable source, take it with a pinch of salt."
