what does it mean to take something with a grain of salt?

Answer 1

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 "cu-m 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. The amount of salt metaphorically needed to make an unlikely statement acceptable often varies from a few grains to a few pounds.

Answer 2

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what does it mean to take something with a grain of salt?

Answer 3

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More hurricanes yes, but I read in several places they increased tornado activity is not an expected result from climate change. However I am no climatologist so take that information with a grain of salt. I'm sure we will hear plenty from the talking heads this week,

Answer 4

this was copied directly from the Wikipedia (the free on-line encyclopedia):

Grain of salt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(With) a grain of salt is a literal translation of a Latin phrase, (***) grano salis. A pinch of salt may also be used.

In common parlance, if something is to be taken with a grain of salt, it means that a measure of healthy skepticism should be applied regarding a claim; that it should not be blindly accepted and believed without any doubt or reservation. According to the Oxford English Dictionary "to take 'it' with a grain of salt" means "to accept a thing less than fully". It dates this usage back to 1647.

The phrase comes from Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia, regarding the discovery of a recipe for an antidote to a poison. In the antidote, one of the ingredients was a grain of salt. Threats involving the poison were thus to be taken "with a grain of salt" and therefore less seriously. In reality, salt is not an antidote to any poison.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grain_of_salt"
Categories: English phrases | Latin phrases | English idioms

Answer 5

"You should take what Joe Blow says with a Grain Of Salt"

In other words what he says may not all be true could be full of
sheet...

Answer 6

It means that the "something" is worthless. Salt used to be valuable before it came in nice little salt shakers. So, the cliche is telling you that if you wanted "something" (that is worthless) to be valuable you should take some salt too. The phase usually applies to "something" being advice. So, if someone gives you some questionable advice, you should "take it with a grain of salt..."

Answer 7

grain salt: https://tinyurl.im/e/what-does-it-mean-to-take-something-with-a-grain-of-salt

Answer 8

salt is a condiment.. it adds flavor... it is also a preservative.. before refrigeration, meat was salted so it wouldn`t spoil... therefore the expression "grain of salt" means to beware, keep your eyes open, don't be deceived by the flavor...

Answer 9

Take it lightly, don't get too worked up over it. It could also mean ignore what they said.

Answer 10

Don't take it too seriously. Lighten up. Don't believe it too strongly.