Worth your salt means good at your job, a real professional: Any guide worth their salt checks the route before taking a group out. It usually comes as any + job + worth their salt, to set a standard: any decent professional would do this. It's close to any self-respecting or any competent.
When would you say worth your salt?
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be worth my / your / their salt; any + professional + worth their salt
- Any guide worth their salt checks the route before taking a group out.
- She proved she was worth her salt by solving a problem the others had missed.
- A mechanic worth their salt should explain the repair clearly.
What changed
First versionA guide who worth their salt will check the weather.
RevisionA guide who is worth their salt will check the weather.
Worth sounds like an action, like costs or deserves, so it seems it can work as a verb by itself. But worth isn't a verb: it needs is, who is worth their salt. Add is. You can also drop who: a guide worth their salt.
Worth the money is about a purchase or service. Worth your salt is about a person and their skill. Experienced means having done something for a long time, but years alone don't prove a person is good at it.
Your turn
Choose the correct structure: Any editor who ___ worth their salt checks names carefully.
Show the answer
is — Worth isn't a verb and needs is. Does doesn't go with worth.
Name something a good professional always does in your job, or in a job you know well. Use any … worth their salt.
Any translator worth their salt checks how a technical term is used in context.
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