the pot calling the kettle black

a situation in which one person criticizes another for a fault they have themselves

Ernie accused me of being selfish. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

by [katie] November 12, 2006

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ass over tea kettle

to fall in such a way as your bum flips over your head

Man, last New Years Eve you really fell ass over tea kettle down Clint's basement stairs

by TheConcierge April 14, 2005

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Related Words

kettly • Kettle • kettled • Kettling • Ketty • Kettlecorn • kettlebell • kettle head • kettlewell • Kettya/Kittya

Pot Calling the Kettle Black

An expression that is said when one accuses another person of that which they are equally guilty of.

Many years ago, people used to cook over an open flame using copper kettles and iron pots. The copper kettles were usually polished after every use whereas the iron pots were not and remained blackened from the soot from previous cookings. Well someone got the idea that if the iron pot were alive and it looked at a nearby copper kettle, it would see a black image. The iron pot believes it sees the image of the copper kettle when in reality, because the copper kettle was polished, what the iron pot was seeing was a reflection of itself. This symbolic phrase became associated with hypocrisy. An accuser blames someone else for having a fault when the accuser has the same fault.

Joe accuses Mark for not keeping his house clean when in reality, Joe has a messy house. Therefore, Joe is guilty of "the pot calling the kettle black".

by Dancing with Fire June 24, 2011

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