I always take life with a grain of salt. . . plus a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila.

This quip is a modern, anonymous piece of barroom-style humor that riffs on the long‑standing proverb “take it with a grain of salt,” meaning to treat something skeptically or not too seriously. The punchline extends the “salt” into the familiar tequila ritual—salt, lemon (or lime), and a shot—turning a counsel of caution into a joke about coping through conviviality and alcohol. It circulates widely on the internet, greeting cards, and novelty merchandise, and is typically presented as an “Anonymous” one-liner rather than tied to a traceable speech, book, or identifiable first publication.

The line juxtaposes stoic detachment with indulgent escapism. On the surface, it claims a light, skeptical attitude toward life’s troubles (“a grain of salt”), but then undercuts that restraint by escalating into a tequila shot—suggesting that the speaker’s method for handling stress is not merely perspective, but celebration or self-medication. The humor depends on the sudden shift from proverbial wisdom to party ritual, implying that sometimes the way to endure life’s absurdities is to laugh, loosen up, and share a drink. It’s less a philosophy than a comic posture: resilience expressed as wit.