i never really understood that. what does it mean? thanks!
2007-12-10 16:25:08 · 15 answers · asked by Jordana 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
A pot and a kettle are both black. How can the pot criticize the kettle when the kettle has the same issue?
Say I have an annoying laugh. I can't go around making fun of others who have an annoying laugh, when I have the same problem, now can I?
2007-12-10 16:28:46 · answer #1 · answered by Paul T 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In the old days, when the saying was coined, both pots and kettles were commonly made out of cast iron which was black, not to mention they were used over an open flame in a fire, so they would have both been covered in soot.
The saying is implying that someone is judging another for something they are just as guilty of, if not more so. Now does it make sense?
(By the way, my mother used to say that, along with a gillion other country sayings, all the time!)
2007-12-11 00:29:13 · answer #2 · answered by arklatexrat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both the pot and the kettle are black. The phrase makes the point that one person is accusing another person of something BOTH are 'guilty' of.
For example, if I say "that person is really lazy", my friend who knows how lazy I AM, might respond: "that's like the pot calling the kettle black!".
Best wishes.
2007-12-11 00:30:19 · answer #3 · answered by Doctor J 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means neither of them have room to talk about the other. They are both in the same boat. Since the pot and the kettle are black, they are both equal.
2007-12-11 00:33:51 · answer #4 · answered by Jackie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's an idiom. You are the pot calling the kettle black when you point to another person and accuse that person of doing something that you are guilty of doing yourself.
2007-12-11 00:28:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The pot is black
The kettle is black
The pot saying "hey kettle, you're black!" makes no sense since both objects are black.
2007-12-11 00:27:47 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
It's like when you say 'oh you're weird' and they say that, then it's like you're the weird one saying someone else is weird.
Because if the pot was black and it called the kettle black...
K, I really do know what I'm trying to say, I hope you could understand that. :(
2007-12-11 00:27:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
me either what if the pot and kettle werent black, and if they are what pot and kettle are they refering to, is it a famous pot and kettle team that i have never heard of, hhmmmmm very strange
2007-12-11 00:29:03 · answer #8 · answered by Kid Zero 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is basically a proverb in which one person will attack the attributes of another individual regardless of their own traits.
I guess in modern pop-culture terms it would be like Tyra Banks calling Heidi Klum shallow.
2007-12-11 00:29:42 · answer #9 · answered by shabushabu 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you hear someone passing judgement
and the person speaking needs to hear it as much as the one they are saying it about
2007-12-11 00:28:23 · answer #10 · answered by tom4bucs 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋