Chrysti The Wordsmith: Salt Expressions

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. Humans have mind processed and traded salt for thousands of years once a precious and rare commodity because of the complexity of its processing. Salt was at various times in history literally worth its weight in gold. Roman soldiers were paid in salt. An allowance known as a salad or salt money our word salary is the etymological offspring of this Latin term sodium chloride is the star of several American cliches consider to be worth one's salt to take with a grain of salt and salt of the earth. If you are worth your salt you're a valuable employee who works hard for your pay. This expression reflects the abovementioned tradition of assault payment for Roman soldiers. The history of the expression to take with a grain of salt is somewhat hazy. One suggestion is that a pinch of salt renders a mysterious tasting meal just a bit more palatable metaphorically then a story of questionable

veracity should be swallowed. Only after salting it with a tad of skepticism. The expression salt of the earth is a compliment reserved for people considered true and kind. This saying originates in the New Testament book of Matthew where Christ compared his devoted followers to salt that most valuable and precious yet most basic of all commodities. I'm Christi the wordsmith from k g l t f m n Bozeman Montana. CHRISTIE The wordsmith a sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.