Mettre son grain de sel
Meaning: To give an unsolicited opinion.
Language: French
Literally: To add one's grain of salt
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: A 20th-century French rendering of the Latin tag cum grano salis, with a grain of salt — itself first written down by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, in the form addito salis grano, describing a snake-venom antidote that called for one grain of salt added to the mix. Salt had long stood for wit and good sense in Latin (sal), so a grain of it dropped into someone else's business reads as a small, pointed contribution — offered whether or not it was wanted, which is exactly the mild reproach the French phrase carries.
Equivalents in other languages
- German: Seinen Senf dazugeben — literally: To add one's mustard
- English: stick your oar in — literally: to stick your oar in
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Les carottes sont cuites — It's too late, nothing can be done.
- Tomaten auf den Augen haben — To be oblivious to what's right in front of you.
- Um den heißen Brei herumreden — To beat around the bush.
- Klar wie Kloßbrühe — Completely obvious.
- 花より団子 (Hana yori dango) — Substance over style; practicality over beauty.
- Tener mala leche — To be in a foul mood or have bad intentions.
More French idioms
- Casser les pieds à quelqu'un — To annoy or bore someone greatly.
- Avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre — To want to have it both ways.
- Noyer le poisson — To confuse the issue deliberately; to dodge a question.
- Chercher midi à quatorze heures — To overcomplicate a simple matter.
- Appeler un chat un chat — To call things by their proper name; to speak bluntly.
- Donner sa langue au chat — To give up trying to guess the answer.
From our tongue twisters
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. — The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? — A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.