kettle

fine kettle of fish

Fig. a troublesome situation; a vexing problem. (Usually appears in the expression, This is a fine kettle of fish!) This is a fine kettle of fish. My husband is not here to meet me at the train station, and there's no phone here for me to call him. Alan: Oh, no! I've burned the roast. We don't have anything to serve our guests as a main dish. Jane: But they'll be here any minute! This is a fine kettle of fish.

See also: fine, fish

pot is calling the kettle black and that's the pot calling the kettle black

Prov. You should not criticize someone for a fault that you have too. (Not polite to say about the person you are addressing.) Bill told Barbara she was sloppy, but Bill never cleans up after himself, either. That's the pot calling the kettle black. My sister says I dress funny, but if you've seen some of the clothes she wears, you know it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

See also: black, calling, pot

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a fine/pretty kettle of fish  (mainly American)

a difficult situation That's a fine kettle of fish - the car won't start and I have to leave in five minutes.

See also: fine, fish

be another/a different kettle of fish

if you say that something or someone is a different kettle of fish, you mean that they are completely different from something or someone else that has been talked about Andy was never very interested in school, but Anna, now she was a completely different kettle of fish. I'd driven an automatic for years but learning to handle a car with gears was another kettle of fish altogether.

See also: another, different, fish

the pot calling the kettle black

something that you say which means someone should not criticize another person for a fault that they have themselves Elliot accused me of being selfish. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

See Piss or get off the can!, throw into the pot, A watched pot never boils

See also: black, calling, pot

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the pot calling the kettle black

a situation in which one person criticizes another for a fault they have themselves Ernie accused me of being selfish. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

See also: black, calling, pot