look who's talking

look who's talking

One is guilty of the same thing they have just criticized. A: "Kathy never pays attention in class." B: "Look who's talking! Just today I saw you reading a magazine during the lecture."

See also: look, talk

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Look who's talking!

Fig. You are guilty of doing the same thing that you have criticized someone else for doing or that you accused someone else of doing. Andy: You criticize me for being late! Look who's talking! You just missed your flight! Jane: Well, nobody's perfect. Mary: You just talk and talk, you go on much too long about practically nothing, and you never give a chance for any one else to talk, and you just don't know when to stop! Sally: Look who's talking!

See also: look

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

look who's talking

You're in no position to criticize, as in I wish Kate would be on time for once.-You do? Look who's talking! This colloquial idiom dates from the mid-1900s, although another version, you can't talk, is a century or so older.

See also: look, talk

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.

look (or hark) who's talking

used to convey that a criticism made applies equally well to the person who has made it. informal

See also: look, talk

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

Look who’s talking!

exclam. You are just as guilty!; You are just as much at fault! Look who’s talking. You were there before I was.

See also: look

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

pot calling the kettle black, the

Accusing a person of faults one has oneself. The term dates from times when most cooking was done over open hearths, where the smoke tended to blacken any kind of utensil being used. The earliest references to this saying in print date from the early seventeenth century. Among the blunter versions is John Clarke’s of 1639: “The pot calls the pan burnt-arse.” A modern and more straightforward equivalent is Look who’s talking, which William Safire believes is derived from the Yiddish kuk nor ver s’ret. In Britain, put as listen who’s talking, it dates from the second half of the twentieth century.

See also: calling, kettle, pot

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer