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 baffled mystified perplexed? There! I just used it again.

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.