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What Does “The Pot Calling the Kettle Black” Mean?

What Does “The Pot Calling the Kettle Black” Mean?

When a person is being accused of something they are not guilty of, that’s plain unfair. And when the person accusing is at fault, to begin with, or has been found to commit the mistakes they are accusing someone of, that’s “the pot calling the kettle black”. What does the “pot, kettle” expression mean, anyway?

The saying “the pot calling the kettle black” means “criticizing a person for a negative trait or fault the accuser also possesses. The opposite of the term is praising something or someone. The phrase signifies hypocrisy/double standards or one’s inability to see faults in themselves. 

This article takes a deep dive into the phrase’s meaning, glosses over its origin, how it’s used or incorporated in ancient and modern texts, and lots more. Keep reading to get a complete grip over the saying.

“The Pot Calling the Kettle Black” – Meaning

The idiom “the pot calling the kettle black” means “someone being guilty of something that they accuse another of”. The kettle is black as it got dirtied due to contact with a cooking fire. The phrase metaphorically denotes the accuser has an impure soul.

In general terms, the phrase refers to both sides being in the wrong. The accused may not be guilty at all, at times. In some other scenarios, the individual being called out deserves the blame but not to the accuser’s level.

judging anxious

Roots and Origin of Use

The phrase is believed to have Spanish roots, and it was first used in English during the beginning of the 17th century. Don Quixote, the Spanish novel, used the idiom first, and its English translation by Thomas Shelton in 1620 was the phrase’s introduction into English. The book was epic in its own right and had a significant impact on English. Several idioms and terms are rooted in Don Quixote, including “quixotic”.

The idiom is also used in other languages with some modifications to describe hypocritical encounters. In Persian literature, for instance, “blackened cooking pots” described negative personalities. It was also used in ancient non-English texts to denote unwise people whose words were likened to pots, which had nothing within and a black exterior. In Masnavi, a Persian poem, the smoke blackening a pot’s outside denoted a person’s deeds. A Persian storybook has used the idiom as its title.

Though not verbatim, Shakespeare used the phrase indirectly or to mean something similar in his play “Troilus and Cressida”. He used the text “The raven chides blackness” to signal hypocrisy. And it’s not just Shakespeare. The history of adages and parables confronting or calling out hypocrisy in more general terms is pretty long. For example:

  • The pot calling the pan burnt-arse.
  • The saucepan laughing at the pipkin.
  • The shovel insulting the poker.
  • The kiln calling the oven “burnt house”.
  • A sieve scoffing at a sewing needle for having a hole in its tail.
  • A vulture mocking a civet cat for body odor.
  • A leaf making fun of foliage for withering and dropping off a bough.

Though not necessarily identical in meaning, the phrase “people living in glass houses mustn’t throw stones” is close to the idiom in context.

As far as the usage of “kitchen tools” in the phrase is concerned, there could be two possible explanations.

The first reasoning dates back to a period where both pots and kettles were made from cast iron. The utensils were placed in or above the open fire for warming reasons. As a result, both the cooking items would blacken with soot, and neither the pot nor the kettle could refer to themselves as “black”. However, the kettle was invariably polished after each usage, whereas the pot wasn’t and therefore stayed blackened from previous cooking.

Another inference is the pot sees its mirror image in the gleaming kettle. In this scenario, the kettle won’t be enveloped in soot. The pot, however, will still see its blackness getting reflected.

Are There Racist Undertones to the Phrase?

In the past and in contemporary times, several writers have refrained from using the idiom in their texts due to the negative connotation attached to the word “black”“. They assert the saying perceives black as not desirable.

If there weren’t any stigma associated with blackness, the famous phrase wouldn’t have existed. In other words, if the pot was silver and it was commenting on a kettle’s “silverness”, the phrase wouldn’t have been coined or widely adopted.

There’s no doubt that “blackness” doesn’t seem to denote a neutral attribute in the framework of expression. On the flip side, “black” could mean a completely different thing when it refers to a kettle and not an individual. It has little or nothing to do with race compared with the physical truth of grime and soot collecting on a glistening surface.

If the word “black” in the saying was used to denote a glossy piano calling out a black leather couch’s sheen, the proverb might cease to have the same impact. In short, “black” is not impaired by default. It’s negative only when it’s describing something dirty. And in the phrase “the pot calling the kettle black”, doesn’t reek of racism, but only highlights a person’s hypocrisy.

If you’re still not sure the phrase doesn’t imply bigotry and are hesitant to employ it in your texts, you can always rephrase the idiom or use any of the aforementioned phrases or wordplays of the sayings in your manuscripts.

pot calling chalk written

Using the Phrase “The Pot Calling the Kettle Black”

The proverb is used in texts or speech as a retort or response to someone. It’s primarily incorporated in texts in a disapproving and criticizing tone. The phrase is a relatively subtle or indirect way of throwing aspersions or talking trash.

Talking about actual examples of the phrase being used in sentences or texts, here are a few examples:

  • John called her a liar. That is pretty much the pot calling the kettle black.
  • How could you chastise her for something that you do habitually? Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?
  • Politicians are continuously blaming and accusing each other but believe they can do no wrong. Their hypocrisy is like the pot calling the kettle black.

From the above sentence, it’s pretty clear that the idiom is almost always used in a separate sentence, or you cannot seamlessly blend it into an existing narrative. Without the phrase, the preceding sentence will still get its message across, but the idiom intensifies things or stresses the idea.

In some scenarios, the phrase may seem extraneous or not having much of an impact on the given context. For example:

  • Stop blaming each other – you both are equally responsible for what transpired. Pot calling the kettle black!

In the above sentence, the phrase may seem like an unnecessary addition or completely aloof. But it’s still okay to use the idiom above.

At times, the phrase could also be shortened as “pot, kettle, black.” For example:

  • You are an idiot to say that. Well, that’s pot, kettle, black.

Though the phrase is used in verbal conversations, it’s not as commonly used – thanks to the “ancientness” of the expression and its length. To communicate the same message or mean something similar, people may use other, more modern phrases, such as “look who’s talking” or “listen who’s talking”.

liar pointing shadow

Example Sentences with “The Pot Calling the Kettle Black”

The following is a list of sentences using the idiom correctly:

  • She accused me of being stingy. That’s like the pot calling the kettle black.
  • Tom called Jim a liar – that is the pot calling the kettle black!
  • I cannot believe she was upset because I showed up late. That’s the pot calling the kettle black.
  • For her to be in a vocation that entails instructing and advising people on how to take care of their health is essentially the pot calling the kettle black.
  • When he says she is obsessive, it’s a pure instance of the pot calling the kettle black.
  • Are you passing chiding remarks on my clothes? Why don’t you look at your outfit in the mirror?! Isn’t it the pot calling the kettle black?
  • The politician accused the TV news channel of biased reporting. The general public quickly reacted and described the leader’s comments as the pot calling the kettle black.
  • His accusing her of cheating was like the pot calling the kettle black.
  • Jason accused Martin of not cleaning his house and keeping it tidy. In reality, however, Jason has a messier house. It’s pretty much like the pot calling the kettle black.
  • He said to me, “Your taste in music is terrible.” I responded, “Well, that’s the pot calling the kettle black because your music preference is worse, in my opinion.

Conclusion

To conclude, the meaning of the phrase “the pot calling the kettle black” is pretty straightforward or is not open to interpretations as some would like to believe. It’s certainly not “racist” or signals anything of that sort in the slightest. Using the saying, therefore, in your texts should be non-controversial and straightforward.

If you are still not sure, refer to the aforementioned example sentences. As stated above, the proverb is almost always used in isolation or a sentence of its own. Therefore, do not try to blend it into an existing sentence, as you could end up sabotaging the text’s flow or overall meaning.