“The pot calling the kettle black” accuses someone of hypocrisy. The phrase originated in medieval kitchens where pots and kettles were made of cast iron and blackened with use. The phrase has been used in literature, including Don Quixote and by Shakespeare. The phrase is not racist, as it refers to the color of the objects involved.
The term “the pot that calls the kettle black” is usually used in the sense of accusing someone of hypocrisy. The origins of the phrase date back to at least the 1600s, when several writers published books or plays that included puns on this theme. Despite suggestions that the phrase is racist or nonsensical, the meaning is actually quite obvious when considering the conditions of a medieval kitchen.
Typically, pots and kettles were made from heavy materials such as cast iron to ensure they would last and hold up to heat. Cast iron tends to blacken with use, as it collects oil, food residue and cooking smoke. Both pots and kettles would also be heated over an open fire in a kitchen. As a result, they would have been streaked with black smoke despite the best cleanup efforts.
Since both are black, dish calling the kettle black would clearly be an act of hypocrisy. The act could also be described by “it takes one to know one” and suggests a certain blindness to one’s personal characteristics. There is another explanation for the term, which involves the pot seeing its black reflection reflected in a shiny copper cauldron. In this sense, the vase does not realize that it is describing itself.
One of the earliest written examples of the phrase appears in Cervantes’ Don Quixote. The epic book was published in the early 1600s and had a great influence on the English language. Numerous terms and idioms have their roots in Don Quixote, such as “quixotic” to describe an idealist. Shakespeare also toyed with the concept in one of his plays, as did many of his contemporaries. The phrase has been twisted and expanded over the centuries, appearing in forms such as “pot, meets kettle.”
Some people believe the phrase is racist, as it refers to the surface color of the objects involved. These individuals may want to keep in mind that in a modern kitchen, the idiom might be “the pot calling the silver kettle,” in reference to the fact that many modern pots and kettles are often made of polished stainless steel. In this particular case, skin color has nothing to do with idiom, except in the sense that both objects involved are of the same color.
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