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"grain of salt"
- Thread starter NearThere
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Take with a grain of salt
This traces it back nearly 2000 years; I wouldn't be surprised if it's even older.
It's not strongly negative, but it's not very complimentary to say 'Don't worry about him. You can take anything he says with a pinch of salt'.
b
This traces it back nearly 2000 years; I wouldn't be surprised if it's even older.
It's not strongly negative, but it's not very complimentary to say 'Don't worry about him. You can take anything he says with a pinch of salt'.
b
vil
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Hi NearThere,
grain of salt
(With) a grain of salt is a literal translation of a Latin phrase, (cum) 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".
Regards.
V.
grain of salt
(With) a grain of salt is a literal translation of a Latin phrase, (cum) 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".
Regards.
V.
NearThere
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Thanks very much to BobK and Vil. I got it now.
So would it be fair to strongly suggest the US presidential candidates be taken with a grain of salt?:-|
So would it be fair to strongly suggest the US presidential candidates be taken with a grain of salt?:-|
Uncle M
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It's usually what a person says or claims that should be taken with a grain of salt - not the person himself.
Surely any presidential candidate must tell the truth once in a while!
Dave
Surely any presidential candidate must tell the truth once in a while!
Dave
I wonder, Dave, do you think that it could be applied to a person, politician or not, who lies with such frequency that one would say the person themselves should be taken with a grain of salt?
Sort of, you've got to apply this to this person whenever he/she opens their mouth.
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