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

But investors took the data with a grain of salt.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, both of this week’s economic readings will be based on older data, due to the lingering effects of the government shutdown, and there is speculation that investors will take them with a grain of salt.

From MarketWatch

However, both of this week’s economic readings will be based on older data, due to the lingering effects of the government shutdown, and there is speculation that investors will take them with a grain of salt.

From MarketWatch

The readings on deck for this week will be backward-looking, and that could mean investors take them with a grain of salt.

From MarketWatch

All based on a theory that European citizens are too dumb to take the things they read on X or elsewhere online with a grain of salt.

From The Wall Street Journal