Learn English – Origin of “Take this question with a grain of salt”

etymologyphrases

Where did this ubiquitous phrase come from? Usually it is used in conjunction with either disputable of downright dubious information but I can't think of how salt improves the situation. The only thing I can think of is that since salt had a higher value in ancient times, that maybe the speaker is trying to almost bribe the recipient ("here is some info and here's some salt for your trouble") but I am just theorizing, take it with a grain of salt.

Best Answer

The phrase is likely derived from the Latin cum grano salis, which in turn was used by Pliny the Elder in his work Naturalis historia:

After the defeat of that mighty monarch, Mithridates, Cneius Pompeius found in his private cabinet a recipe for an antidote in his own hand- writing ; it was to the following effect: Take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue ; pound them all together, with the addition of a grain of salt; if a person takes this mixture fasting, he will be proof against all poisons for that day.

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