to throw stones
2
6.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
criticar
- The old saying that folks who live in glass houses should not throw stones may be appropriate.
Examples
-
Just remember, those who live in glass houses should never throw stones at others.
Blog text (6) -
The man does nothing but throw stones and stir the pot, and yet people listen and believe him.
Blog text (6) -
Look in the mirror before you start throwing stones at someone.
Blog text (7) -
When people throw stones at you, it's because you're a beautiful tree full of boots.
-
The God Worshippers threw stones at us.
Fiction book (1996) -
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Mackbee.
Blog text (6) -
Scud and I stayed cheerful and went down to the harbor, where we threw stones into the slick, which was as thick as treacle and moving nowhere like a pond.
Fiction book (1996) -
It's true they had a long-standing animosity toward the projects, but, hey, we have Jenny McCarthy and a bunch of other folks on this side of the world saying things not too dissimilar, so why throw stones at people who know these projects were used to infiltrate their country?
Blog text (7) -
Before you judge others, remember that you shouldn't throw stones when you have your own issues.
-
It's not fair to throw stones at someone for their mistakes when you're making the same ones.
Synonyms
To blame others when you have the same faults
Antonyms
How Critical
Surface Forms
Morphology
throw + stones
The literal meanings of 'throw' (to propel) and 'stones' (small rocks) describe a physical action, not the abstract notion of criticizing others; the shift to mean 'criticize others while ignoring one’s own faults' is a culturally grounded, metaphorical extension tied to the proverb about hypocrisy. A B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably infer this specific idiomatic sense without prior exposure, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
The idiom throw stones comes from the image of someone throwing stones at other people while living in a 'glass house', which shows how unfair it is to blame others when you have the same faults. So it means 'to criticize others while ignoring your own faults'.