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What are some idioms that no longer make sense? Can you think of a modern replacement? (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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I was thinking about the phrase 'The pot calling the kettle black'. It comes from a time where cooking was done over open fires and cookware would become visibly ashy. (Fun fact: It first appears and was perhaps coined by Cervantes in Don Quixote!)

What are some other idioms that have lost their literal connection to time? What would be a good modern replacement?

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[–] 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (6 children)

I don't know if its literal origin doesn't make sense to a modern person, but I think that most people still get the literal meaning of "pot calling the kettle black", that that is still understandable, so...

We still use "penny-wise and pound-foolish" in the US. We haven't used the pound since we seceded from the British Empire, and we just ended minting of the penny.

The saying apparently predates the US by about 200 years.

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  • [–] [S] 7 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

    Until I looked it up I thought it was about the literal colour of the pot and the kettle. I even thought there might be racist undertones 😅. What's a good replacement for 'Pennywise and Pound foolish'? Maybe 'Steam saler, LootBox whaler'

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