The pot calling the kettle black
Meaning: Criticizing someone for a flaw you yourself possess.
Origin: A version is in Don Quixote, where the frying pan tells the kettle, "Avant, black-browes," in Thomas Shelton's English translation of 1620. William Penn's Some Fruits of Solitude (1693) has the modern form, "for the Pot to call the Kettle black." Hanging over the same sooty hearth, both were equally black.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: C'est l'hôpital qui se moque de la charité (literally: It's the hospital mocking charity)
- Spanish: Le dijo la sartén al cazo (literally: The pan said to the pot)
- Japanese: 目くそ鼻くそを笑う (Mekuso hanakuso wo warau) (literally: Eye gunk laughs at nose gunk)
- German: Ein Esel schimpft den anderen Langohr (literally: One donkey calls the other one long-ears)
More proverbs about Morality
- Give credit where credit is due — Acknowledge others' contributions fairly.
- Practice what you preach — Live according to the principles you advocate.
- Cleanliness is next to godliness — Being clean is a virtue akin to being pious.
- Pride comes before a fall — Arrogance often precedes failure.
- The wheels of justice turn slowly — Justice takes time but eventually arrives.
- The ends justify the means — A good outcome excuses questionable methods.
From our untranslatable words
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- Hinna — To manage something inside the time available — not speed, but fitting the act in before…