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Glite Dictionary
to take bread and salt

to take bread and salt

9.7
To share bread and salt to show friendship and trust
  • idiom
  • Literature
translation icon : compartir pan y sal
  • In many cultures, to take bread and salt with someone means to welcome them as a trusted friend.

Examples

  • It is customary in some regions for guests to take bread and salt with their hosts upon arrival.

  • During the ceremony, the two leaders took bread and salt to signify their new partnership.

  • They decided to take bread and salt during the feast.

  • When we met, we took bread and salt together.

  • In many cultures, to take bread and salt with someone means to welcome them as a trusted friend.

  • During the ceremony, the two leaders took bread and salt to signify their new partnership.

  • It is customary in some regions for guests to take bread and salt with their hosts upon arrival.

Synonyms

to break bread
vsto take bread and salt
  • Informal
14 3.9

To eat a meal together to show friendship or build community

is a ritual sharing that creates a closer trusting bond than a normal meal

Antonyms

breach of trust
4 6.7

To break the trust someone gives you by acting dishonestly or failing a duty

How Close

to take bread and salt
  • Literature
9.7
to befriend
61 3.0
to make friends
134 1.0

Surface Forms

take bread and salt infinitive
taking bread and salt present participle
takes bread and salt third person singular
took bread and salt past
taken bread and salt past participle

Morphology

take + bread + and + salt

Although the constituents 'take', 'bread' and 'salt' are literal, the phrase refers to a culturally specific ritual meaning (forming a bond by sharing bread and salt) that is not compositionally derivable from the words. This is an idiomatic, culture-bound usage rather than a predictable combination, so a B1 learner who only knows the parts would likely not infer the friendship/bond sense.

Etymology

Take bread and salt comes from an old welcome tradition where a guest and a host shared a piece of bread and a pinch of salt to show trust. By actually taking the food people promised to be friends and loyal, so today the phrase means 'to form a close friendship'.