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

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above