the pot calling the kettle black

Related to the pot calling the kettle black: Idioms

the pot calling the kettle black

A situation in which a person accuses someone of or criticizes someone for something that they themselves are guilty of. You're judging me for wearing revealing clothing to a party? That's the pot calling the kettle black, don't you think? The senator accused the newspaper of misrepresenting the facts, which many people have pointed out is the pot calling the kettle black.

See also: black, calling, kettle, pot

pot calling the kettle black, the

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

If you talk about the pot calling the kettle black, you mean that a person who has accused someone of having a fault has the same fault themselves. His accusations must have sounded like the pot calling the kettle black. Note: People often vary this expression. For the government to speak of press lies is a pot and kettle situation. Note: In the past, both pots and kettles were hung over fires, and would be burned black.

See also: black, calling, kettle, pot

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

the pot calling the kettle black

someone making criticisms about someone else which could equally well apply to themselves.

1998 Times Yet as Guardian insiders point out, the pot can't call the kettle black. She can't cry foul when subjected to fair and standard competition.

See also: black, calling, kettle, pot

the ˌpot calling the kettle ˈblack

(saying, informal) used to say that you should not criticize somebody for a fault that you have yourself: ‘You haven’t done any work all morning.’ ‘Neither have you! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!’When cooking was done over a fire, the smoke made cooking pots turn black.

See also: black, calling, kettle, pot

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.