take for granted without failing to appreciate

[birdeen's call]

I wrote recently:

It means announce the names and the intention to marry of a betrothed couple (as in church).

Also "put up the banns".

This is my own definition, so do not take its value for granted.

Does the bold part sound right to native speakers? I obviously didn't mean "do not fail to appreciate its value." I meant "do not accept it as certain without testing." Is it OK?

[5jj]

When I first read your post, it seemed perfectly normal and natural. Your question made me think about it more, and now I am not so sure.

I still think it is fine, though I also think that I might have written something like, "so don't just take my word for it."

The more I think, the more I doubt my own ability to know what is natural. I look forward to seeing what others think.

[azcl]

***Not a teacher***

Hello BC,

do not take its value for granted

I fully understood your meaning, but I don't think a native speaker would put it in this way. There are a number of ways this may be expressed; some possibilities are as follows:

"...so do not take it as gospel" (a little informal)
"...so do not take this to be definitive"
"...so do not take it as read that it is correct"

Ade

[BobK]

Your meaning was clear to me too - and those alternatives (well, the 1st and 3rd) sprang to mind as more natural. There's also the near-equivalent (at least, some people ignore the implied speculative nature of the admission) 'don't take it on spec' (also informal). There's an expression not unlike 'gospel' - which is often an abbreviation of 'the gospel truth' - but it's used for rules rather than information: 'set in stone'.

b