Meaning
A hypocritical criticism in which the accuser has the same fault as the accused. A direct accusation of hypocrisy. The shortened 'pot, meet kettle' is modern and more conversational. Regional use: English form of a European proverb; now international English.
Origin
Thomas Shelton's 1620 English translation of Don Quixote has a related frying-pan and kettle taunt, showing the European household image in English. William Penn used the now familiar pot-and-kettle wording in Some Fruits of Solitude in 1693 to condemn people who denounce faults they have not conquered in themselves. The blackness is ordinary soot or dark cookware, not a racial reference.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- Pot, meet kettle
- That's the pot calling the kettle black
- The frying-pan calling the kettle black
Usage Examples
- A newspaper attacking another for sensationalism is the pot calling the kettle black.
- When Tom complained about lateness, Priya muttered, 'Pot, meet kettle.'
- The firm's lecture on transparency sounded like the pot calling the kettle black.