# "Take it with a grain of salt" etymolgy?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt-etymolgy/24032>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 29, 2000, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt-etymolgy/24032 "2000-06-29T15:52:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jdl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@jdl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdl)\
**Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt-etymolgy/24032/1 "2000-06-29T15:52:16Z")

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What is the origin of the idiom, “Take it with a grain of salt?”

Also, can you recommend a website that lists idiom etymologies?

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**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\
**Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt-etymolgy/24032/2 "2000-06-29T16:14:51Z")

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Hows this:

> [@](#):
>
> With a grain of salt
> 
> Meaning: With a healthy dose of skepticism, suspicion, and caution.  
> Example: Dave has been known to stretch the truth a bit. Take what he says with a grain of salt.  
> Origin: Salt is now an inexpensive and readily available commodity. But it was once very valuable due to its high demand as a food preservative and relative scarcity.  
> Salt was thought to have healing properties and to be an antidote to poisons. To take (eat or drink) something “with a grain of salt” was to practice preventive medicine. One would do this if they were suspicious that the food might be poisonous or may cause illness.
> 
> Thanks to Ron Akers
> 
> The phrase and meaning is thousands of years old, the Latin equivalent phrase is “cum grano salis”.
> 
> Thanks to Barry Harridge and Richard Laurent

[From this web site.](http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOrigins.htm)

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt-etymolgy/24032/3 "2000-06-29T22:20:49Z")

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The first place to look for this kind of stuff is [The Word Detective](http://www.word-detective.com). If you look in the index of back issues, you will find his [column on grain of salt](http://www.word-detective.com/052598.html#grainosalt) among many other columns on word and phrase origins.