Salt is something we use every day to add flavor to our food. But did you know it can also add flavor to our language? This post explores how!
Salt Idioms
Here are 20 salt idioms in English with meaning and example sentence for each.
Worth one’s salt
Meaning: Deserving one’s salary.
Example: He’s definitely worth his salt as a chef.
Take with a grain of salt
Meaning: Be skeptical about.
Example: I’d take his advice with a grain of salt.
Salt of the earth
Meaning: A very good and honest person.
Example: My grandmother is the salt of the earth.
Rub salt in the wound
Meaning: Make a bad situation worse.
Example: Don’t rub salt in the wound by mentioning it.
Back to the salt mines
Meaning: Return to hard work.
Example: Break’s over, back to the salt mines.
Pour salt on the tail
Meaning: Catch or stop someone.
Example: He managed to pour salt on the tail of the thief.
Salt away
Meaning: Save or store secretly.
Example: He has some money salted away for emergencies.
Salt something away
Meaning: Preserve or store something.
Example: They salted away the meat for winter.
Worth one’s salt
Meaning: Competent and deserving.
Example: Any teacher worth their salt knows that.
With a grain of salt
Meaning: With skepticism or caution.
Example: Take these results with a grain of salt.
Salted with
Meaning: Sprinkled or scattered with.
Example: The fields were salted with wildflowers.
Old salt
Meaning: An experienced sailor.
Example: He’s an old salt who loves the sea.
Pinch of salt
Meaning: A small amount of skepticism.
Example: Take his words with a pinch of salt.
Salt in a wound
Meaning: Aggravate an already bad situation.
Example: Mentioning her ex was salt in a wound.
Salt and battery
Meaning: A playful twist on ‘assault and battery’.
Example: Their debate turned into a salt and battery.
Salt the earth
Meaning: Destroy or spoil something completely.
Example: They aimed to salt the earth behind them.
No salt
Meaning: No strong characteristics; bland.
Example: His speech was interesting but no salt.
Salt one’s talk
Meaning: Add emotion or intensity to discussion.
Example: She really salted her talk at the meeting.
Fresh as salt
Meaning: Ironic, meaning not fresh at all.
Example: His ideas are as fresh as salt.
To salt the mine
Meaning: Deceptively enhance something’s value.
Example: They tried to salt the mine to increase sales.
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