Above the salt


Also found in: Idioms.
phrases which have survived the old custom, in the houses of people of rank, of placing a large saltcellar near the middle of a long table, the places above which were assigned to the guests of distinction, and those below to dependents, inferiors, and poor relations. See Saltfoot.

See also: Salt

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by G. & C. Merriam Co.
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Old lines about knights at table in the great banquet halls, and of those above the salt and below the salt, and of Vikings feasting fresh from sea and ripe for battle, came to me; and I knew that the old times were not dead and that we belonged to that selfsame ancient breed.
At this, above the salt, sat the visiting nobles and the grown members of their families, of both sexes, -- the resident Court, in effect -- sixty-one per- sons; below the salt sat minor officers of the house- hold, with their principal subordinates: altogether a hundred and eighteen persons sitting, and about as many liveried servants standing behind their chairs, or serving in one capacity or another.
We've all heard the expressions "above the salt" and "below the salt", but not everyone knows how they originated.
A deep well at Zakum reached 17,370 feet and was still above the salt pillow which forms this large, low-amplitude feature whose surface area is 660 sq km.
But as Lee settled into her new role, she met an unexpected roadblock at times when recruiting candidates to become a part of a standout team in Utah: Potential employees took one look at the cloud of pollution lingering above the Salt Lake Valley during winter inversions and decided to chase job offers in cities with cleaner air instead.
As he perches high above the salt marshes scanning the horizon, bird watchers, locals and tourists inspired by Monty's story keep watch, too.
But production comes from layers above the salt, as does all current offshore production.
Here are guided day and half-day outings offered by three Salt Lake groups Rising 6,000 feet above the Salt Lake Valley, Utah's Wasatch Range celebrates spring in topographic stages.
Salt Lake City - Over the next five years, INCOMM CORPORATION plans to add 101 new jobs at its existing Utah operation at wages that are more than 125 percent above the Salt Lake County average.