The pot calling the kettle black

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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

  1. The pot calling the kettle black Phrase Finder
  2. The pot calling the kettle black Cambridge University Press & Assessment

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.

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