to throw stones in a glass house
- idiom
- Informal
- He accused his colleague of incompetence, but he shouldn't throw stones in a glass house given his own mistakes.
Examples
-
Politicians often throw stones in a glass house without addressing their own shortcomings.
-
Before you throw stones in a glass house, consider your own actions and flaws.
-
Don't throw stones in a glass house!
-
She is always throwing stones in a glass house when she criticizes others.
-
Before you throw stones in a glass house, consider your own actions and flaws.
-
He accused his colleague of incompetence, but he shouldn't throw stones in a glass house given his own mistakes.
-
Politicians often throw stones in a glass house without addressing their own shortcomings.
Synonyms
To be the first to criticize someone when you have the same fault
Say bad things about others while ignoring your own faults
Antonyms
How Hypocritical
- Informal
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
throw + stones + in + a + glass + house
The phrase evokes a clear literal image — throwing stones in a glass house would break your own windows — so learners can infer a notion of self‑damage or foolishness from the constituents. However, the conventionalized sense 'don’t criticize others when you have the same faults' requires a cultural/proverbial mapping that is not fully predictable from the words alone, though its presence in many languages makes the inference easier for some learners.
Etymology
Throw stones in a glass house creates a clear picture: if you throw stones while living in a glass house, the glass will break and you will be hurt yourself. So it means 'to criticize others when you have the same faults'.