Attic salt

Examples of Attic salt in a sentence

• To what might it not have given rise? what delightful intimacies,—what public praise,—to what Athenian banquets and rich flavour of Attic salt?1855 January 5, Anthony Trollope, The Warden, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
• As the dinner waned, hands reached for the pepper cruet rather than for the shaker of Attic salt.1907 April, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Country of Elusion”, in The Trimmed Lamp […] , New York: McClure, Phillips &...
• But Attic salt is not the sole preservative against the decay that threatens all human writings; nor can mere eloquence rekindle the ashes of a dead controversy.1941, H[ugh] F[raser] Stewart, “Pascal in Debate”, in The Secret of Pascal, Cambridge: At the University Press, →OCLC; 1st paperback...

Origin of Attic salt

Attic + salt; a calque of Latin sāl Atticus or sāl Atticum. In classical times “salt” was a frequent metaphor for “wit”.

Questions about Attic salt

What does Attic salt mean?

Attic salt means pointed and delicate wit.

How do you use Attic salt in a sentence?

To what might it not have given rise? what delightful intimacies,—what public praise,—to what Athenian banquets and rich flavour of Attic salt?

What part of speech is Attic salt?

Attic salt is a noun.

How do you pronounce Attic salt?

Attic salt is pronounced /ˈatɪk sɔːlt/ (UK).