the pot calling the kettle black
5
7.4
- idiom
- When he criticized her lack of punctuality, it felt like the pot calling the kettle black since he was often late himself.
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Watch on YouTubeSo that's kind of the pot calling the kettle black, right?
- So that's kind of the pot calling the kettle black, right?
Examples
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Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black?
Blog text (4) -
Disney (or Pixar) decrying consumerism does smack a little bit of the pot calling the kettle black, but as long as it sends the right message to kids, I can swallow the irony.
Blog text (4) -
His comments about my spending habits were just an example of the pot calling the kettle black because he is always overspending.
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She can’t tell me to stop being lazy; that’s just the pot calling the kettle black since she never finishes her work on time.
Synonyms
18
6.7
Say bad things about others while ignoring your own faults
8
7.7
To be the first to criticize someone when you have the same fault
1
8.4
To blame others when you have the same faults
A comment that points out a fault you also have
How Hypocritical
- Offensive
139
5.6
141
6.4
5
7.4
86
5.2
98
4.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
the + pot + call + the + kettle + black
The proverb's meaning ('accuse someone of hypocrisy') is not directly derivable from the literal senses of 'pot', 'kettle', 'call' and 'black'—it rests on a cultural metaphor about both vessels being soot-stained, which is not explicit in the words. A B1 learner who knows the constituents but has not seen the idiom would not reliably infer 'hypocrisy', so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable.
Etymology
The idiom the pot calling the kettle black comes from old kitchens where both the pot and the kettle stood over the fire and became black with soot. If the pot calls the kettle 'black', it looks silly because both are the same, so the phrase is used to show 'hypocrisy' when someone criticizes a fault they also have.