take (something) with a pinch of salt

take (something) with a pinch of salt

To consider or evaluate something, such as a statement, while keeping in mind that it may not be completely true or accurate, typically due to the unreliability of the source. Kevin said that you can get into the club for free if you wear red, but I'm taking it with a pinch of salt. Take whatever that paper publishes with a pinch of salt—it's really a tabloid.

See also: of, pinch, salt, take

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

take something with a pinch of salt

 and take something with a grain of slt

Fig. to listen to a story or an explanation with considerable doubt. You must take anything she says with a grain of salt. She doesn't always tell the truth. They took my explanation with a pinch of salt. I was sure they didn't believe me.

See also: of, pinch, salt, take

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

take something with a pinch of salt

mainly BRITISH or

take something with a grain of salt

mainly AMERICAN

COMMON If you say that someone should take some information with a pinch of salt, you mean that they should not believe it completely because it may not all be accurate or true. Reports from the authorities that the situation is calm should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt. You have to take these findings with a grain of salt because respondents in attitude surveys tend to give the answers they feel they should. Note: A pinch of salt is a small amount of salt held between your thumb and your first finger. Some people believe that this expression refers to the King of Pontus, Mithridates VI, who lived in the first century BC. It is said that he made himself immune to poison by swallowing small amounts of it with a grain of salt. However, other people think that it is a medieval English expression, which suggests that you need to be suspicious of unlikely stories in the same way that you need salt with food.

See also: of, pinch, salt, something, take

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

take something with a pinch (or grain) of salt

regard something as exaggerated; believe only part of something.

1998 Bookseller Meanwhile…readers should take the quotes they see with a pinch of salt.

See also: of, pinch, salt, something, take

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

take something with a pinch of ˈsalt

(informal) not believe everything somebody says: She told me she knew people in the movie industry, but I took that with a pinch of salt. ♢ I take everything he says with a large pinch of salt. OPPOSITE: take something as/for gospel/gospel truth

See also: of, pinch, salt, something, take

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017