Idioms

cast the first stone

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cast the first stone

To be the first to criticize someone or something. OK, fine, I'll cast the first stone—that movie was awful! Alicia cast the first stone, but of course the boss heard me—and only me—complaining about him. A: "I hate to cast the first stone, but, come on—Kelly absolutely cannot cook." B: "I know, that meal she made was disgusting!"
See also: cast, first, stone
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

cast the first stone

Fig. to make the first criticism; to be the first to attack. (From a biblical quotation.) Well, I don't want to be the one to cast the first stone, but she sang horribly. John always casts the first stone. Does he think he's perfect?
See also: cast, first, stone
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

cast the first stone

Also, throw the first stone. Be quick to blame, criticize, or punish, as in She's always criticizing her colleagues, casting the first stone no matter what the circumstances . The term comes from the New Testament (John 8:7), where Jesus defends an adulteress against those who would stone her, saying "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." Also see people who live in glass houses; pot calling the kettle black.
See also: cast, first, stone
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cast (or throw) the first stone

be the first to accuse or criticize.
The phrase comes from an incident recorded in St John's Gospel. A group of men preparing to stone an adulterous woman to death were addressed by Jesus with the words: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her’ (John 8:7).
See also: cast, first, stone
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

cast/throw the first stone, to

To be quick to attack someone or something. The term comes from Jesus’ defense of an adulteress against vindictive Pharisees and scribes, who quoted the law of Moses and said she must be stoned. Jesus told them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (Gospel of St. John, 8:7). The implication that the attacker is equally vulnerable was continued in the modern-day cliché, and spelled out even more in the old proverb, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
See also: cast, first, throw, to
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive
Chester Himes had to wait until 1952 to get a watered-down version of his prison tome published as a novel called Cast the First Stone (Coward-McCann, 1952).
Breaking out: in fiction and nonfiction, new books are ending the silence on life in prison, as well as societal policies and personal behaviors that put people there
So in the words of Jesus Christ, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." You aren't going to Hell because you skateboard.
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"Let him among you who is without sin cast the first stone." But "tu quoque" (You're another, and so is your old man) is not compelling.
Jagdish Bhagwati, The Wind of the Hundred Days: How Washington Mismanaged Globalization
Call me unfashionable, but check your decor with House Beautiful magazine experts before you cast the first stone.
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As someone once said, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
SINNER, STONE THYSELF!
Most overrated figure: I guess I'll go biblical and say, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." We're all in this together.
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De Lisser pounced: "But to paraphrase the Good Book, let he that is without sin cast the first stone."
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The sentence he finally utters when his questioners insist, is one of the most famous in all four Gospels: If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him cast the first stone.
THE FIRST STONE
Jesus said, "He who is without sin among you cast the first stone." Which Reconstructionists qualify as stoners?
LETTERS
Those who adhere to the "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" philosophy.
Which side are you on?
They blame the transformation of the manuscript into the 1952 novel Cast the First Stone solely on "demolition work methodically carried out by Himes's editors," who "upset the whole structure of the book." Much of it, they maintain, "had simply been thrown away by Himes's editors." But given Himes's desperate quest for both income and recognition, he may have participated quite willingly in turning the manuscript into a book that would be commercially viable in 1952 America.
Yesterday Will Make You Cry
But as someone famous once said, let he who hath not made a rickets of things himself cast the first stone. Or something like that.
Kevin's words are out of Toon
The other epigraph is from John: "Let the one among you who has done no wrong cast the first stone." Eros and Christ.
The First Stone
His first novel, If He Hollers, Let Him Go (1945), depicts the bigotry he encountered as an African American in California shipyards and plants; Lonely Crusade (1947) concerns labor unions, and Cast the First Stone (1952) deals with race relations in a prison.
Himes, Chester (Bomar) (1909-1984)
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