Accusing someone of faults that one has oneself, as in Tom's criticizing Dexter for dubious line calls is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, since Tom's about the worst line judge I've ever seen. This expression dates from the days of open-hearth cooking, which blackens practically all the utensils used. [Early 1600s]
The pot calling the kettle black
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 | kettle (Idiom) |
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| people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones (Idiom) |
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 | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- kettle (Idiom)
- black (Idiom)
- people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones (Idiom)
- pot (Idiom)
- call (Idiom)
- cast the first stone (Idiom)
- it takes one to know one (Idiom)
- A Closer Look: Survivor (TV Episode) (2006 TV Episode)
- Pot (dream symbols)
- The Pot
- Hypocrisy
- Pot calling the kettle black
- Tu quoque
- Unclean hands
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