Take with a grain of salt

^ take it WITHOUT reservations and WITHOUT offense. Let it roll of your back, etc. Don't take it seriously, like you don't take a grain of salt serously.
 
^Ok johnydub, you are right, you win. When someone says "take this with a grain of salt," they really are asking for harsh critisisms and skeptical responses. That is the whole reason people say it, is to make sure that everyone thouroughly bashes on their statement. Seriously, maybe you should look at the context of something rather than rely on dictionary.com. Maybe if you did that you would realize that you are saying the complete opposite of what it means.
 
First of all normally people don't say it about something they say themselves. it is usually said about something someone else has said. For example “She took the claim that he didn’t want to be president with a grain of salt.” This means that she is skeptical of the fact that he doesn't want to be president. Look there's some context.

And what context was i suppost to look at in the first place? All the title of the thread has is the phrase.

Why would the dictionary have a definition that is the opposite of what it really means?

You need to realize that you didn't really know what it meant.
 
Haha, the context in which people use it. Lets take your example: He took the fact that she didn't want to be president with a grain of salt. It means the "he" doesnt really believe that she doesnt want to be president. He is blowing off the statement of her not wanting to be president. Look at what every other person has said in this thread. You, in fact are the one who doesn't know what you're talking about.
 
with a grain of salt

Also, with a pinch of salt. Skeptically, with reservations. For example, I always take Sandy's stories about illnesses with a grain of saltshe 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.

word for word def, so i am going to have to back up jonnydub, claiming that you are right and the dictionary is wrong is big claim
 
it definitly means you should have reservations. Usually someone is repeating a comment or opinion from someone who has an obvious bias...they may be right, but, maybe not, here's what they said..
 
Jesus Christ on a motorcycle. Don't you guys go to school? I'm finnish and even I know what it means, without having to look at a dictionary. Johnnydub is right on this. Explained in a way that you drunks can understand: When mexicans started making tequila, it tasted so foul they had to take some salt to go with it to alleviate the taste. Just like when someone tells you something that you can't necessarily trust, you use your common sense to judge if you buy it or not.

Well I know if that made any sense at all actually, but oh well...
 
it definitely means to take it with reservation, cause it's not trsutworthy or 100% positive.
 
haha, yeah... no I'm just saying that one would assume that people who speak english as a native language would know what their own sayings mean better than a person who has never even been to an english speaking country, that's all
 
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