Grain of salt

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(With) a grain of salt is a literal translation of a Latin phrase, (cum) grano salis. A pinch of salt may also be used.

In common parlance, if something is to be taken with a grain of salt, it means that a measure of healthy skepticism should be applied regarding a claim; that it should not be blindly accepted and believed without any doubt or reservation. According to the Oxford English Dictionary "to take 'it' with a grain of salt" means "to accept a thing less than fully". It dates this usage back to 1647.

Speakers may emphasize the degree of skepticism suggested by modifying the expression, such as, "Take that with a BIG grain of salt!" While the basic expression is commonly used to suggest that positive doubt exists, thus modified it can be seen as a direct assertion that a claim is very doubtful, or outright false.

Another meaning is 'with moderation', and it is related to the way someone uses something. It probably refers to the activity of cooking, where only a pinch of salt is sufficient to enhance the flavour of a dish. In this sense, USING something 'cum grano salis' means to use it with moderation.

The phrase comes from Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia, regarding the discovery of a recipe for an antidote to a poison. In the antidote, one of the ingredients was a grain of salt. Threats involving the poison were thus to be taken "with a grain of salt" and therefore less seriously. Salt is not known in modern toxicology to be an antidote to any poison^{[citation needed]}.