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Why do we say 'Salt of the earth'?

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salt of the earth

Being described by someone as ‘the salt of the earth’ is quite a compliment...it means that you are a person of great worth and reliability. The expression is Biblical in origin (Matthew 5:13), and it is believed that the use of ‘salt’ in the expression is a reference to the value of salt, which was supposedly quite a valued commodity back then!

Example: "David is the salt of the earth. He's always the first to help when somone is in trouble."