grain of salt

noun phrase

variants or less commonly pinch of salt

: a skeptical attitude

—used in the phrase take (something) with a grain/pinch of salt

I take the guidebooks with a grain of salt, preferring to follow my instincts.

—Daisann McLane

The malleability of memory … is the first reason why autobiographies should be taken with a grain of salt.

—Judith Rich Harris

Examples of grain of salt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So the claims about Claude 3.5 should be taken with a grain of salt. —Michael Kan, PCMAG, 20 June 2024

There was still a few grains of salt left to rub into the wound, as Scheffler’s putt to escape with a bogey came up four inches short. —Jack Bantock, CNN, 14 June 2024

But take that gaudy number with many grains of salt. —Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 7 June 2024

That means anyone viewing them should take Google's claims with a huge grain of salt, because the generation results may not be typical. —Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 15 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above