Przyganiał kocioł garnkowi, a sam smoli
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What it means
“The pot was scolding the pan, yet it blackens itself.” The fuller version of the proverb: the one doing the criticising is guilty of the same thing. Hypocrisy exposed.
English equivalent
The pot calling the kettle black.
Vocabulary
- przyganiać — to scold, to reproach
- kocioł — cauldron, pot
- garnek — pot, pan
- smolić — to blacken with soot, to tar
- sam — himself, itself
Grammar note
'A sam smoli' — 'a' here is an adversative conjunction (yet/but). 'Sam' emphasises the subject doing the very thing it criticises.
Intermediate
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