Can anyone tell me what this "quote" means?

[*Fantasia*]

I read this on the Resort Board, and no one understood what it meant. I don't either.

Well, well, well.....now if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black!

JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!

What does that mean?

 

[kayeandjim00]

It means you are saying something about them that is also true about you.

 

[BoPeep]

Well, a pot is black, and it's calling the kettle black, so that would be kinda like a hypocrite. At least that's what I've always thought it meant.

 

[juligrl]

I read this on the Resort Board, and no one understood what it meant. I don't either.



What does that mean?

I thought this was a fairly common quote, but apparently not because I've heard other people say they don't get it either. Maybe because cast iron pots and kettles aren't the norm these days. Both the pot and the kettle are black - the same thing. The person replying with the response would be saying that you're kind of being hypocritical because you're also guilty of doing or being the same.

Example: "I'm tired of you always wearing my clothing!" Answer: "Aren't you the pot calling the kettle black? You're wearing my pants right now!"

 

[FroggyinArk]

go to the pms thread and ask Tigger and Belle,,lol,, but yeah its hey you hypocrite just in other terms.

 

[DisneyFan06]

That quote is too common in the south!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

go to the pms thread and ask Tigger and Belle,,lol,, but yeah its hey you hypocrite just in other terms.

Grrrr, Froggy...

It is one of my favorite expressions, but I have lots of favorite expressions and whole thick book that explains that meanings of most of them. DisneyFan, my mom was from the south, so maybe I learned it from her.

Here's a link. http://www.goenglish.com/ThePotCallingTheKettleBlack.asp


And just to clarify, I don't think Froggy was calling me a hypocrite...just that I like the expression. Were you Froggy? Froggy? Where are you Froggy?

 

[lesroi]

I always thought it was very common as well.

Around here we just say "pot. kettle. black."


Tracy

 

[Micca]

I have a friend who believes it is a racist remark. I never even thought of that.

 

[FroggyinArk]

Grrrr, Froggy...

It is one of my favorite expressions, but I have lots of favorite expressions and whole thick book that explains that meanings of most of them. DisneyFan, my mom was from the south, so maybe I learned it from her.

Here's a link. http://www.goenglish.com/ThePotCallingTheKettleBlack.asp


And just to clarify, I don't think Froggy was calling me a hypocrite...just that I like the expression. Were you Froggy? Froggy? Where are you Froggy?

actually i was out on the deck going through camping gear getting ready for next weekend in the mountains, no T&A you are not a Hippocrite, nor a kettle, nor a pot, etc...

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I have a friend who believes it is a racist remark. I never even thought of that.

Nope, it's not racist any more than it's a drug reference.

 

[N.Bailey]

I always thought it was very common as well.

Around here we just say "pot. kettle. black."


Tracy

I can't believe anyone doesn't know what it means, either. I have frequently heard the expression, and said the expression (yes I am guilty) in these type terms too. Like, if this isn't one of those "Pot, Kettle, Black" sorta things, I don't know what is.

I have a friend who believes it is a racist remark. I never even thought of that.

It's not at all racist. I hope you tell your friend that.

To the OP, say for example you make it a habit of personally attacking posters on the board (it's an example, I'm sure you haven't). Then say, you turn around and yell at someone for personally attacking another poster. See the hypocrisy in this example? It would fit the term, "if that's not the pot calling the kettle black" I don't know what is.

 

[I Love Pluto]

No, it's not a racist remark. I'll make this as simple as I can.

The 'pot calling the kettle black" situation:
I would attack someone for bringing their mug back to the resort from the previous year and using it again. (Only good for length of stay.)
Then - on my next trip - I would use mine from last year.

Why would I have criticized someone if I am doing the same wrong thing?

It's an old saying from the 40's and 50's where I grew up. It has stuck. People still use the phrase.

 

[TallyLassie]

The 'pot calling the kettle black" situation:
I would attack someone for bringing their mug back to the resort from the previous year and using it again. (Only good for length of stay.)
Then - on my next trip - I would use mine from last year.

Why would I have criticized someone if I am doing the same wrong thing?

Yes, that is the way my Mom always used it.

"the pot calling the kettle black"
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. Example: "You are accusing me of being lazy? Ha! That's the pot calling the kettle black!"

"The pot" (for cooking) and "the kettle" (for boiling water) sit on the stove over the fire and become black from the flames. Example: "I'm tired of you always wearing my clothing!" Answer: "Aren't you the pot calling the kettle black? You're wearing my pants right now!"

The pot and the kettle are like old friends who have turned black with time; the pot only sees the blackness which is on the kettle; he doesn't see the black on himself. Example: "Here comes the guy who is always late for work." Answer: "Aren't you the pot calling the kettle black? You are usually the last person to show up!"


http://www.goenglish.com/ThePotCallingTheKettleBlack.asp

 

[jan/cape]

I have also said to someone, "Hey kettle, you're black." Will stop the offender dead in their tracks lol

 

[*Fantasia*]

ahhhh.. thanks guys for helping me understand the quote. i am not very good at "quotes." maybe i should start a thread of "quotes."

 

[ElizaB39]

I have also thought of this saying along with the saying, "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." Anyone else?

 

[FayeW]

I think the full version of the saying is "That's the pot calling the kettle black BOTTOM", because of course, in the old days, when everything was cooked over a flame, all the cooking utensils would have "black bottoms".

It has gotten shortened through the ages, and the "bottom" has been left off in most common uses.

Sometimes I will say "Hey Pot, the kettle called...he wants his blackness back!".

 

[Kimmielee]

I think the full version of the saying is "That's the pot calling the kettle black BOTTOM", because of course, in the old days, when everything was cooked over a flame, all the cooking utensils would have "black bottoms".

It has gotten shortened through the ages, and the "bottom" has been left off in most common uses.

Sometimes I will say "Hey Pot, the kettle called...he wants his blackness back!".

 

[NARM Forever]

I grew up in Northern England and this is a very common saying there. Normally said "OOOOOOw, isn't that just a case of the Kettle calling the Pot Black". Faye was right about its origins, as for it being a racist slur