salt (redirected from salts)

any [judge/lawyer/teacher etc.] worth their salt

any judge, lawyer, teacher etc. who is good at their job. Any lawyer worth his salt should be aware of the latest changes in taxation. No judge worth her salt would attempt to influence the jury.

See also: any, judge, worth

be the salt of the earth

if someone is the salt of the earth, they are a very good and honest person. His mother's the salt of the earth. She'd give you her last penny.

See also: earth

go through someone/something like a dose of salts (old-fashioned)

if something you eat goes through your body like a dose of salts, it goes through you very quickly. Those beans went through me like a dose of salts.

See also: dose, like, through

rub salt in/into the wound

to make a difficult situation even worse for someone. Losing was bad enough, having to watch them receiving the trophy just rubbed salt into the wound.

See also: rub, wound

take something with a pinch of salt (British & Australian, American & Australian)

if you take what someone says with a pinch of salt, you do not completely believe it. You have to take everything she says with a pinch of salt. She has a tendency to exaggerate. It's interesting to read the reports in the newspapers, but I tend to take them with a grain of salt.

See also: pinch, take

---

rub salt into someone's wounds

to make someone feel even worse about something. It's too bad Charlie couldn't come, but let's not tell him they let us in for free — there's no point rubbing salt into his wounds.

See also: rub, wound

salt away something

to save something, esp. money, for use at a later time. It's not easy paying a mortgage, raising a young child, and salting away enough money for your retirement.

See also: away

the salt of the earth

the best people. Farmers were described as the best, the salt of the earth, particularly when their products were needed to feed the army.

Etymology: based on the high value salt had in the past, and used in the Bible

See also: earth

take something with a grain of salt

to consider something to be not completely true or right. I've read the article, which I take with a grain of salt.

hard to swallow

Etymology: based on the idea that food tastes better and is easier to swallow if you add a little salt

See also: grain, take

worth your/its salt

someone or something that deserves respect. Virtually any wine shop worth its salt carries at least a few wines from New Zealand. Any judge worth his salt would immediately report an attempt to influence the jury.

See also: worth