The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

This idiom is typically used as a response by someone after having received criticism by another. The user's point is to say that the person bringing about criticism is just as bad and has faults of their own. That the critic doesn't have a right to judge if they themselves have the same faults or also engage in the actions that they are criticizing. For example, a wife tells her husband that he smokes too much. However, the twist is that the wife also smokes and the husband knows that she smokes just as much, or even more than he does. So the husband's response is "Well that's the pot calling the kettle black!"

As with many idioms, the meaning and intended use isn't immediately obvious if the idiom is learned by itself without any context. The reason for the use of pots and kettles as well as the use of the word "black" isn't immediately apparent. Someone may ask why pots and kettles are assumed to be black. They may recall the many shiny silver-colored stainless steel pots that they have owned and the kettles that they have used that have come in many materials and colors. Many kettles even now come in electric form. Looking through the history of the idiom, we can get an idea of how it came to be.

The wisdom provided by the idiom has appeared in many forms throughout human history. Such as Shakespeare's "The raven chides blackness." from the 1602 play Troilus & Cressida or another commonly spoken idiom "He who is without sin, cast the first stone." appearing in John 8 of the Bible. However, when considering the "pot calling the kettle black" form, the earliest version appears in Miguel de Cervantes' 1605 novel Don Quixote. At one point in the story, the protagonist of the story grows tired of his servant's criticisms. The protagonist then exclaims "Dijo el sartén a la caldera, Quítate allá ojinegra". Thomas Sheldon's Cervantes Saavedra's History of Don Quixote from 1620 provides a translation: "Said the pan to the pot, get out of there black-eyes".

An alternate version of the translation appears in John Clarke's Paroemiologia Anglo-Latina and is written as "The pot calls the pan burnt-arse", providing a clearer picture. From this translation we can more easily see how the idiom came to be. Pots and pans are both placed above fire or some sort of heating source for food preparation. After some use, the bottoms of the cookware become dark. Neither the pot nor the pan can then make fun of the other for being burnt, since they both are hiding the same damage.

Should someone with faults of their own be allowed to criticize another? If the intent is simply to be mean-spirited or if they are prideful or arrogant, then it is certainly hypocritic of them to offer criticism. It is a sign that they are unable to see the faults that they carry or that they are aware of their own faults but don't perceive them as faults. Thus resulting in the concept of this idiom and the desire to use it as a rebuttal to the critic.

But there is another side to consider. There are moments when someone is trying to offer help through what is often called constructive criticism.  The person offering constructive criticism by suggesting that the other make a change could have struggles of their own. They have experienced the difficulties and potentially understand the struggle more than someone who hasn't been through it. Even if the critic has no intention of changing their own ways, it doesn't change the fact that what they say may be valid criticism. In the case of the wife scolding the husband for smoking, she is aware of the risks associated with smoking and may also want to one day quit smoking. But for now she is doing what she can to convince her husband to quit. It then becomes a situation similar to the expression "Do as I say, not as I do".

Ultimately, "The Pot Calling the Kettle Black" is a useful idiom that is valid in some situations and doesn't completely apply to others. It has become outdated as modern kitchenware has evolved, but has still managed to stick around and still see common use. I propose an updated version of the idiom that is more immediately understood while still capturing the intended meaning.

"That's the mule calling the donkey an ass."

A mule is the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. In the image above, the mule is calling the donkey an ass. Yet the mule is unaware of his own lineage, perhaps because he has never known his father. He is part ass himself. So by calling the donkey an ass, he is in the same moment calling himself an ass. This alternate version also keeps some of the original spirit of one of the early translations, "The pot calls the pan burnt-arse."