Meaning & use
pots and kettles
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phraseinformalhumorous
Used to say someone is criticizing a fault that they themselves have, so the criticism is silly.
Grammar: Comes from the proverb 'the pot calling the kettle black'; it stands alone as a comment and needs no object.
Patterns
- pots and kettles
- that's pots and kettles
- the pot calling the kettle black
He says I'm always late, but he's never on time either — pots and kettles, really.
She told me off for interrupting, which is pots and kettles coming from her.
Calling him messy is a bit pots and kettles when your desk looks like that.
phraseidiominformal
The full proverb: a person blames someone else for a fault they share themselves.
Grammar: The longer form usually appears as a whole sentence: 'That's the pot calling the kettle black.'
Patterns
- the pot calling the kettle black
When a gossip calls someone a gossip, it's the pot calling the kettle black.
His complaint about rude drivers was the pot calling the kettle black.
Common combinations
- that's pots and kettles
- You're accusing me of being untidy? That's pots and kettles!
- a bit pots and kettles
- Criticizing her spelling is a bit pots and kettles, isn't it?
- the pot calling the kettle black
- Saying I talk too much is the pot calling the kettle black.
Synonyms and how they differ
- the pot calling the kettle black
- The full, more traditional version of the same idea; 'pots and kettles' is a short, casual shortening of it.
- hypocritical
- Describes the person or remark directly as an adjective; 'pots and kettles' is a comment you make about the situation, not a label you put before a noun.
Commonly confused: pots and kettles or pot luck? pots and kettles or kettle?
pots and kettles vs pot luck
'Pot luck' means whatever food happens to be available, or a chance gamble; it has nothing to do with mutual faults.
pots and kettles vs kettle
A kettle is the container for boiling water; the phrase uses it only as an image of two equally black cooking pots.
Practice
My brother says I spend too much time on my phone, but he's on his all day. Which comment fits?
Choose one answer.
'Pots and kettles' fits because the brother is guilty of the same fault he is criticizing. 'Pot luck' is about chance or whatever food is available, and 'a kettle of fish' means a messy situation, so neither matches the shared-fault idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pots and kettles”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.