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pot, meet kettle

Used to draw attention to hypocrisy; a reference to the saying, "pot calling the kettle black" (see under another entry: "pot calling the kettle black"; it's the same as saying, "that's true of YOU" (and mayor may not be true of me, or not as much)

Etymology:

  • The etymology comes from the original phrase: "pot calling the kettle black." There are two interpretations of this phrase, though some sources give only the first interpretation. In the first interpretation, it refers to the fact that both cast-iron pots' and kettles' bottoms turn equally black when hung over a fire, and thus the pot is accusing the kettle of a fault it shares. In the second, subtler interpretation, the pot is sooty, while the kettle is clean and shiny, and hence when the pot accuses the kettle of being black, it is the pot’s own sooty reflection that it sees: the pot accuses the kettle of a fault that only the pot has.
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I think it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black when she says he is obsessive. She is much more obsessive.

Submitted on July 07, 2010

Modified by TriplePurple on March 21, 2024

Translation

Find a translation for the pot, meet kettle phrase in other languages:

Topf, Wasserkocher treffen

ポット、やかんに会う

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    "pot, meet kettle." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/pot,-meet-kettle_20728>.

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