【英语习语】take sth. with a grain of salt

【英语习语】                     take sth. with a grain of salt

                                                                                                                                            佳中

 

      take sth. with a grain of salt    这个习语的字面意思是“和一撮盐

一起吃下去”，为什么要与盐一起吃呢？据说这个习语要追溯到罗马时代，罗

马将军庞培曾发现一种解毒剂，必须和着一小把盐才服得下去。解毒剂难咽，

加了盐也许好咽些，于是这句习语用于描述对一些不靠谱的，值得怀疑的东西，

得“和着盐”才能勉强接受。现在，对某件事情或某人说的话有所保留，将信

将疑，持怀疑态度，就可以说take it with a grain of salt. 英文注释是：To take

something with a grain of salt means to accept it but to maintain a degree of

skepticism about its truth.

 

 

                                     

 

 

例句：

   

1）Uncle Bill tells some stories, but we take what he says with a grain of

      salt because he sometimes likes to exaggerate or makes things up.

 比尔大叔讲了好些事情，不过对他所说的要有所保留，有时他喜欢把事情

 夸大。

 

2）This is only a sort of handout. You may take it with a grain of salt.

 这只是一份分发的资料，你大可以不必相信。

 

3）Horoscope is fun, but it's not necessarily accurate. I always take it with a

      grain of salt.

 星座这东西很有趣，但是并不一定准确。我对它一向将信将疑。

 

 4）But there are at least two reasons to take sanguine assessments of the

      consequences of climate change with a grain of salt.

 但是至少有两个原因使我们对乐观看待气候变化的结果持保留态度。

     

       5）As for these figures, we may take them with a grain of salt, but there

            seems  to be a consensus that the risk is substantial.

 对于这些的具体数据，我们可以不用全信，但人们似乎对此达成共识，风险

 的确不小。

    

       6）He didn't deliberately mislead, but I think we should take what he said

            with  a grain of salt.  

 他并非故意歪曲事实，但是我认为我们应该对他所说的打个折扣。

      

       7）She always has an ax to grind. You should take whatever she says with

            a grain of salt.

 她总是居心叵测，对她说的话你得多留神。

      

       8）Markets already take the government's official data with a grain of

            salt.

 市场已经对政府官方数据普遍表示怀疑。

 

●  take sth. with a grain of salt 多用于美语和澳大利亚英语，在英国常说

   takesth. with a pinch of salt   ( Note: “Take it with a grain of salt” is more

     common in American and Australian English, while “ take sth. with a pinch of

     salt” is more common in British English.)

 

1）Sometimes he is right, but usually his predictions have to be taken with a

      pinch of salt.

 有时候他是对的，不过，通常听他的预测要打折扣。

     

      2）Indeed, the Internet is a big source of information, but what is said on the

           Internet should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 确实，互联网是一个大的信息来源，但网上的信息值得商榷。

      

      3）I took his explanation with a pinch of salt; I knew he was not a

           particularly honest man.

           我听了他的解释，将信将疑；我知道他这个人不大老实。

 

4）But if readers take their misery literature with a pinch of salt, that

      surely  makes our taste for it even more baffling.

 如果读者对这些儿童悲剧文学将信将疑的话，那么他们在欣赏此类作品时势

 必会感觉无所适从。