Meanings
prepositional phrase
- idiomaticCommon, vulgar; of low standing.
His fashion is not to take knowledge of him that is beneath him in clothes. He never drinks below the salt.
1600 (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Cynthias Reuels, or The Fountayne of Selfe-Loue. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
Opposite
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
below the salt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below%20the%20salt
MLA
“below the salt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below%20the%20salt. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “below the salt,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below%20the%20salt.
Source: below the salt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.