The Pot Calling The Kettle Black!
Eishh! Another English idiom that leaves me perplexed. Perplexed… what a beautiful word. So… so... eh... exotic and unlike some of the words I sometimes have to listen to. I must use it more often. I hope it does not have any other hidden meanings.But back to the expression; yes, I know the meaning of it. It is used to describe a hypocrite – a person who is guilty of the very things of which they accuse others of, which is something else we see a lot.
Then what is it that leaves me so
It is the pot dear, the pot. Just who is this conceited pot to call the kettle black? We all know a pot as something that belongs in the kitchen, but it could be many other things ranging from a jar to shooting a snooker ball into a pocket. It is even an accepted term for a potentiometer. But none of them seems to apply here.
Pot also has a less noble meaning. As a verb, it could refer to heavy drinking. And also, when people smoke that funny green stuff (monkey weed), they are said to be smoking pot. Both these actions are known to make people believe that they are worth more than what they really are. Could it have been a smoking pot that called the kettle black?
And then you get the chamber pot. They are normally nice and white on the outside, kept out of sight, and neatly tucked under the bed. It is because of what comes out when you spill it, why it is not kosher. Could this have been the pot in question?
Oh, I love these idioms when one tries to find their roots.
Eishh, then I still wanted to talk about hate speech and a few other things, but I fear the time is up.
I declare that this piece of verbal diarrhea was sucked out my thumb, and as such, entirely fictional. Any resemblance to any instance or person, dead or alive, is a pure coincidence, engineered by fate alone.
Greetings from a wet and cold Capetown.
Comments (52)
So which pot is it. The smoking pot, the chamber pot or the kitchen pot?
Ouch! Electricity just went off. We'll talk later.
what's your first language...curiosity
HEY
is that just a way of the boy acting at home or there is a reason behind it?
you're English so good
I spoke broken English when I got married to an English damsel. My ex-wife taught me how to speak English. I'm forever in her debt for that. She often reminds me of it.
I like to explain th detail, even draw pictures if I can.
Seems you have a combination of the above, you're dealing with a multi pot pot
Ahh, load shedding... it's a helluva turn off
All these times I thought the correct sentence would be "Could it have been a smoking kettle that called the pot black? Aaaahhh.. English language always confused me! I guess I need
a drinkan English teacher..It is not load shedding. Unscheduled. Probably due to the weather.
I hope it comes on before the battery runs out,
You could be right. I have been without the teacher for a very long time.
"Jumping out of the frypan into the fire"
....
....
Oil in a pan can get bloody hot. The fire may be the lesser of the two evils.
Just to clear up any possible confusion around the word play; people don't smoke kettle, they smoke pot.
So it should be the second pot you mentioned that is calling the kettle black.
Wish you a pleasant evening Cat.!
I have a black, cast iron skillet/pot. So maybe I can call the kettle black? What do you think?
I believe most idioms are out of date; some being 100s of years old. But they are so entrenched in our language that they will never disappear. They enrich the language.
I also have one of those. We use it sometimes to make 'potjiekos' on a Saturday afternoon. I'm not extremely fond of it.
I use mine mostly to bake fruit cobblers in. Beats most traditional pies baked in a pie pan.
Hope you are doing good.
Very funny idioms...hope your sitting by a fire warming yourself due to the rain and the cold there...and maybe warming a pot of stew...lol...
In that case follow me, I'm right behind you.
I have a fire going but it smells' The owner of a nearby factory gave me a mountain of wood off cuts for free. They make roof trusses. He did not tell me that the wood is treated with a chemical.
I normally drink Viceroy but when it is cold like this I lean heavy on a bottle of Monis full cream sherry. It is a real foot warmer.
Yep, birds of feather flock together but I prefer : 'If you sleep with the dogs you wake up with the fleas'.
I been hanging out on Downtown Chicago!
Great Pizza Also!
Let sleeping dogs sleep.
And you man up!....
Read My Lips!
I been hanging downtown! In Chicago.