below the salt
1
(of people) having a status, position, or reputation that is low
The origin of the idiom "below the salt" can be traced back to medieval dining customs. In those times, dining tables of nobility often featured a large salt cellar placed in the center. The salt was a valuable and expensive commodity, and its placement on the table symbolized prestige. It is often used to discuss or critique issues related to social inequality, class distinctions, or perceived inferiority.
- By the time reforms were implemented, the practice of keeping people below the salt had already been deeply entrenched.
- The societal norms of the past had firmly established the idea of certain individuals being held below the salt.
- In the future, the aspiration is that no one will have to experience being held below the salt.
- At the banquet, the workers were seated below the salt, while the nobility sat at the head of the table.
- He was treated as someone below the salt, not invited to the decision-making discussions.