take something with a pinch of salt
/ˌteɪk ˌsʌmθɪŋ wɪð ə ˌpɪntʃ əv ˈsɔːlt/INFORMAL · B2
Meaning
to not fully believe what you are told
Examples
- 1Take it with a pinch of salt when Ben talks about his famous friends.
- 2I always take it with a pinch of salt when my uncle talks about fishing.
- 3The advert promised perfect skin in a week, so we took it with a pinch of salt.
- 4Leo says he met a famous footballer, but I'd take that with a pinch of salt.
- 5Should we take this with a pinch of salt, or is the forecast usually right?
Grammar
Only take changes: takes, taking, took, taken. something is a short object such as it or that. American English says a grain of salt.
More idioms about honesty and secrets
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →tell it like it isto describe a situation honestly, even the unpleasant partseconomical with the truthnot telling all the facts, or not being honestspill the beansto tell people information that was meant to stay privatecome cleanto finally admit the truth about something you kept hiddenkeep something under your hatto not tell anyone else about somethinga skeleton in the cupboardan embarrassing fact from someone's past that they hide
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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