“Take it with a grain of salt,” is an adage I had to research further. To be honest I wasn’t 100% sure exactly what it meant. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines grain of salt as a skeptical attitude.
According to Kelly Kuehn author of Where Did the Phrase “Take it With a Grain of Salt” Come From?
“When the authenticity of information is questionable, we tell others to take it with a grain of salt.”
In other words if you are not completely confident that the information you are sharing is totally correct or true, you might warn the recipient of the information to “take it with a grain of salt.”
Hopefully, the other person will be motivated to do more research on their own.
The lesson here for our children is not to believe everything they are told or read. If something sounds off, or the source is questionable takr the extra time to delve further.
In Kuehn’s research into the original meaning of the phrase she found evidence from 77 AD where the salt was considered an antidote for poison.
Interestingly words and information can be quite poisonous if delivered maliciously. Use the antidote of “taking it with a grain of salt” to discern the truth.
(I’m including a picture of my favorite kind of salt, Redmond’s Real Salt )
https://redmond.life/collections/real-salt
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