[Idiom] Wrongdoer accusing others first

[jaylowe]

Dear all,

I wonder if there's such an idiom that describes a wrongdoer accusing others first, so as to shift the attention.

thanks

 

[birdeen's call]

Try finger-pointing - Definition of finger-pointing, point the finger at - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

The wrongdoer tries to get away with his wrongdoing by blaming others. He points fingers, but his hands aren't clean. (Bob Marley paraphrased).

"Deflect blame" means this, but I wouldn't call it an idiom.

 

[BobK]

Ther's a saying that nearly fits, but it's about someone 'pointing the finger' at someone else when s/he's not perfect him/herself: 'Let not the pot call the kettle black'. (The archaic 'let not' is often avoided by oblique reference, such as: 'Pots and kettles spring to mind.)

In such cases of hypocrisy it's also not uncommon to use a biblical reference to The Mote and the Beam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .

In cricket there's a specific case of finger-pointing to hide one's own error. When a bowler bowls what he tinks may be a 'wide' he sometimes appeals for an LBW (Leg Before Wicket) dismissal, hoping that the umpire will be distracted and not call the wide - thinking 'if the bowler thought it was LBW it can't have been wide'. But there is no special term for this; it is just 'kiddology' or 'gamesmanship'.

b

 

[Tdol]

We could use "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone", which comes from the Bible, but can be used to imply that those making the accusations are not themselves innocent.

 

[freezeframe]

preemptive strike :-D

"shift the blame/attention" can work

 

[BobK]

preemptive strike :-D

...

A variation of 'preemptive strike' was used of the glorious Welsh RU team in the '70s; they liked to 'get their retaliation in first'.

b

 

[freezeframe]

A variation of 'preemptive strike' was used of the glorious Welsh RU team in the '70s; they liked to 'get their retaliation in first'.

b

Awesome! I'll have to use that phrase now!

Thanks!

 

[jaylowe]

Thank you so much for all your replies!
:up:

 

[SanMar]

Ther's a saying that nearly fits, but it's about someone 'pointing the finger' at someone else when s/he's not perfect him/herself: 'Let not the pot call the kettle black'. (The archaic 'let not' is often avoided by oblique reference, such as: 'Pots and kettles spring to mind.)

b

Often I'll say and hear "Well isn't/aint that the pot calling the kettle black!" but I'm not sure if it's as popular as it once was. Same meaning as above.

Not a teacher.

 

[JMurray]

BobK: (The archaic 'let not' is often avoided by oblique reference, such as: 'Pots and kettles spring to mind.)

Yes, this saying is very ingrained. I've seen people just raise their eyebrows and say "pot – kettle".

 

[birdeen's call]

BobK: (The archaic 'let not' is often avoided by oblique reference, such as: 'Pots and kettles spring to mind.)

Yes, this saying is very ingrained. I've seen people just raise their eyebrows and say "pot – kettle".

Does anyone know the origin of the saying? We have a pot-kettle saying in Polish too, which is used to express the same idea!

 

[BobK]

Does anyone know the origin of the saying? We have a pot-kettle saying in Polish too, which is used to express the same idea!

I hope someone responds; I'll stay tuned. But I'm afraid I have no idea.

It obviously dates from a time or a culture in which cooking vessels were suspended over a fire. I remember when I first heard it - it seemed very odd to me, as in my experience neither pots nor kettles were black.

b

 

[JMurray]

I've always assumed it was based on the idea that both pot and kettle were regularly placed over an open fire and would therefore both be black. So for one to accuse the other was hypocritical.
But this, from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1870 (revised), tells a different story.

"The pot calling the kettle black: Said of someone accusing another of faults similar to those committed by the accuser. The allusion is to the old household in which the copper kettle would be kept polished, while the iron pot would remain black. The kettle's bright side would reflect the pot. The pot, seeing its reflection, would thus see black, which would appear to be on the side of the kettle. The pot could then accuse the kettle of a fault it did not have."

 

[jaylowe]

Thanks everyone.

But I actually had a scenario in mind: a student who clearly did a sloppy job in an assignment blamed me for not laying down the instructions clearly. As his fault isn't the same one he accused me with, I'm not sure the pot and kettle idiom really applies...

 

[freezeframe]

Thanks everyone.

But I actually had a scenario in mind: a student who clearly did a sloppy job in an assignment blamed me for not laying down the instructions clearly. As his fault isn't the same one he accused me with, I'm not sure the pot and kettle idiom really applies...

The phrase for that is "to shift the blame".