with a grain of salt

Idioms  

1. Also, with a pinch of salt. Skeptically, with reservations. For example, I always take Sandy's stories about illnesses with a grain of salt—she tends to exaggerate. This expression is a translation of the Latin cum grano salis, which Pliny used in describing Pompey's discovery of an antidote for poison (to be taken with a grain of salt). It was soon adopted by English writers.

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Example Sentences

It is “even more than usual good to take the forecast with a grain of salt,” he said in a press conference this month.

From The Wall Street Journal

“This is all part of what we call the ‘fog of war’ when one has to take everything one hears with a grain of salt, focusing on actual developments.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“It’s not like we are making decisions not to pass a bill because of ‘sign ins,’” she said, “So we’ll take it with a grain of salt.”

From The Wall Street Journal

While China hit its growth target last year, it should be taken with "a grain of salt", as other data suggests a weaker economic picture, said Georgetown University policy researcher Ning Leng.

From BBC

Since Rose-Ivy took everything she heard with a grain of salt, she didn’t think the story about the haint made sense.

From Literature