To squeeze between thumb and finger, or a small amount of something. Can also mean a difficult situation or tight spot.
From Old French pinchier, possibly of Germanic origin. The figurative sense of 'difficult situation' comes from the physical discomfort of being squeezed or compressed.
The phrase 'pinch of salt' originally referred to the tiny amount you could hold between two fingers, but 'take with a pinch of salt' comes from Pliny the Elder's antidote recipe that included salt. The gesture is so fundamental that babies instinctively develop the pincer grasp around 9 months old.
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