Meanings
- idiomaticnot comparableWith a little common sense and skepticism.
I take anything I read on the Internet with a grain of salt.
1 more example
In it, police laid out list of biographical factoids about BTK and urged residents to read it with a grain of salt. Releasing a list of his “claims,” they reasoned, might allow someone, somewhere to make a connection that police couldn't hope to.
2008, John Douglas, Johnny Dodd, Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN
Origin
- Latincum grānō salis
- Englishwith a grain of salt
Calque of Latin cum grānō salis , literally with a grain of salt, figuratively with a bit of common sense (from Pliny’s Pompey’s discovery of an antidote against poison to be taken with a grain of salt).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan reserves, cautela
- reserveswith common sense and skepticism
- cautelawith common sense and skepticism
- escepticismewith common sense and skepticism
Chinese Mandarin 持懷疑態度 /持怀疑态度
- 持懷疑態度 /持怀疑态度 (chí huáiyí tàidù)with common sense and skepticism
Czech rezerva
- rezervawith common sense and skepticism
Danish med et gran salt
- med et gran saltwith common sense and skepticism
Dutch met een korreltje zout
- met een korreltje zoutwith common sense and skepticism
Finnish varauksin, varauksellisesti
- varauksinwith common sense and skepticism
- varauksellisestiwith common sense and skepticism
- varauksellawith common sense and skepticism
- varovastiwith common sense and skepticism
French avec des pincettes
- avec des pincetteswith common sense and skepticism
German mit einem Körnchen Salz
- mit einem Körnchen Salzwith common sense and skepticism
Hebrew עם קמצוץ מלח, בערבון מוגבל
- עם קמצוץ מלח ('Im kamtsuts melah)with common sense and skepticism
- בערבון מוגבלwith common sense and skepticism
- בהסתייגות מסוימתwith common sense and skepticism
Hungarian fenntartással
- fenntartássalwith common sense and skepticism
Icelandic með saltkorni (taka e-u með saltkorni)
- með saltkorni (taka e-u með saltkorni)with common sense and skepticism
Italian col sale in zucca, con un po' di sale in zucca
- col sale in zuccawith common sense and skepticism
- con un po' di sale in zuccawith common sense and skepticism
Japanese 話半分
- 話半分 (hanashihanbun)with common sense and skepticism
Latin cum grano salis
- cum grano saliswith common sense and skepticism
Norwegian Bokmål med en klype salt
- med en klype saltwith common sense and skepticism
Polish z przymrużeniem oka
- z przymrużeniem okawith common sense and skepticism
Portuguese cum grano salis
- cum grano saliswith common sense and skepticism
Russian скепти́чески, недове́рчиво
- скепти́чески (skeptíčeski)with common sense and skepticism
- недове́рчиво (nedovérčivo)with common sense and skepticism
Spanish coger con pinzas, tomar con pinzas
- coger con pinzaswith common sense and skepticism
- tomar con pinzaswith common sense and skepticism
- tomar con reservaswith common sense and skepticism
- creer la mitadwith common sense and skepticism
- con un grano de salwith common sense and skepticism
- escuchar con reservaswith common sense and skepticism
- con escepticismowith common sense and skepticism
- escépticamentewith common sense and skepticism
- ser escéptico conwith common sense and skepticism
Swedish med en nypa salt
- med en nypa saltwith common sense and skepticism
Ukrainian з сумнівом одна баба казала
- з сумнівом одна баба казала (z sumnivom)with common sense and skepticism
Cite this entry
with a grain of salt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/with%20a%20grain%20of%20salt
“with a grain of salt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/with%20a%20grain%20of%20salt. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “with a grain of salt,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/with%20a%20grain%20of%20salt.
Source: with a grain of salt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.