Jun 27, 2018
Many people understand the idiom "a pot calling the kettle black" to mean criticizing others for a fault you also possess. But there is another more nuanced interpretation that goes back to the late 17th and 18th century. In those days, a pot was usually warmed over an open fire, while a kettle would have been placed on top of glowing coals. The pot would have gathered layers of soot from the burning wood; the kettle would have stayed clean and mirror-like. So when the pot looks at the kettle, what he’s really seeing is his own grubby reflection. The saying is thus, not so much about hypocrisy as it is about projection and as such it remains the perfect analogy for today's progressive movement.