kettle

a different kettle of fish

Any issue or matter that is entirely different in scope, description, or nature from that which was just being discussed. Steve: "So you like your first two roommates, but what about your third one?" Joe: "William? Oh, he's a different kettle of fish altogether." I suppose we could start looking at buying a house now that our baby is on the way, but that's an entirely different kettle of fish!
See also: different, fish, kettle, of

a storm in a teakettle

A disproportionate reaction of anger, concern, or displeasure over some minor or trivial matter. (A less common variant of "a tempest in a teacup/teapot.") If you ask me, these protests are nothing but a storm in a teakettle that's been stoked by a media campaign of misinformation. I really think you're making a storm in a teakettle over this. It's just a tiny scratch on the car!
See also: storm, teakettle

a tempest in a teakettle

A disproportionate reaction of anger, concern, or displeasure over some minor or trivial matter. (A less common variant of "a tempest in a teacup/teapot.") If you ask me, these protests are nothing but a tempest in a teakettle that's been stoked by a media campaign of misinformation. I really think you're making a tempest in a teakettle over this. It's just a tiny scratch on the car!
See also: teakettle, tempest

a watched kettle never boils

proverb When you want something to happen, paying too much attention to it will make the wait feel much longer. A variant of the more common expression "a watched pot never boils." Would you stop refreshing the page? The results will be posted soon enough, and a watched kettle never boils! You should do something with your time instead of just sitting there waiting for the doctor to call. A watched kettle never boils, after all.
See also: boil, kettle, never, watch

another kettle of fish

Any issue or matter that is entirely different in scope, description, or nature from that which was just being discussed. A: "So you like your first two roommates, but what about your third one?" B: "William? Oh, he's another kettle of fish altogether." I suppose we should start looking at buying a house now that our baby is on the way, but that's another kettle of fish!
See also: another, fish, kettle, of

be a different kettle of fish

To be entirely different in scope or description from someone or something that was just being discussed. Steve: "So you like your first two roommates, but what about your third one?" Joe: "William? Oh, he's a different kettle of fish altogether." I suppose we could start looking at buying a house now that our baby is on the way, but that's an entirely different kettle of fish!
See also: different, fish, kettle, of

be a whole other kettle of fish

To be entirely different in scope or description from someone or something that was just being discussed. Steve: "So you like your first two roommates, but what about your third one?" Joe: "William? Oh, he's a whole other kettle of fish." I suppose we could start looking at buying a house now that our baby is on the way, but that's a whole other kettle of fish!
See also: fish, kettle, of, other, whole

be another kettle of fish

To be entirely different in scope or description from someone or something that was just being discussed. A: "So you like your first two roommates, but what about your third one?" B: "William? Oh, he's another kettle of fish altogether." I suppose we should start looking at buying a house now that our baby is on the way, but that's another kettle of fish!
See also: another, fish, kettle, of

fine kettle of fish

A difficult or awkward situation; a mess. Primarily heard in US. Well, that's a fine kettle of fish. I thought I paid the credit card bill, but it turns out that I missed the due date by a week.
See also: fine, fish, kettle, of

hello pot, meet kettle

informal Used to highlight a situation in which a person accuses someone of or criticizes someone for something of which they themselves are guilty. An allusion to the idiom "the pot calling the kettle black," which means the same. You, the miniskirt queen, are judging me for wearing revealing clothing to a party? Wow, hello pot, meet kettle!
See also: hello, kettle, meet

hi pot, meet kettle

informal Used to highlight a situation in which a person accuses someone of or criticizes someone for something of which they themselves are guilty. An allusion to the idiom "the pot calling the kettle black," which means the same. You're judging me for wearing revealing clothing to a party? Wow, hi pot, meet kettle!
See also: hi, kettle, meet

kettle of fish

Any given situation or issue. Used with specific modifiers depending on the context, especially "fine" or "pretty" for something difficult or awkward, and "different" or "another" for something dissimilar. Well, that's a pretty kettle of fish. I thought I paid the credit card bill, but it turns out that I missed the due date by a week. I know you think you're ready for parenthood just because you take care of two dogs, but raising a baby is a completely different kettle of fish.
See also: fish, kettle, of

pot, meet kettle

informal Used to highlight a situation in which a person accuses someone of or criticizes someone for something of which they themselves are guilty. An allusion to the idiom "the pot calling the kettle black," which means the same. You, the miniskirt queen, are judging me for wearing revealing clothing to a party? Pot, meet kettle!
See also: kettle, meet

pretty kettle of fish

A difficult or awkward situation; a mess. Primarily heard in US. Well, that's a pretty kettle of fish. I thought I paid the credit card bill, but it turns out that I missed the due date by a week.
See also: fish, kettle, of, pretty

the pot calling the kettle black

A situation in which a person accuses someone of or criticizes someone for something that they themselves are guilty of. You're judging me for wearing revealing clothing to a party? That's the pot calling the kettle black, don't you think? The senator accused the newspaper of misrepresenting the facts, which many people have pointed out is the pot calling the kettle black.
See also: black, calling, kettle, pot

the pot is calling the kettle black

Someone is accusing or criticizing someone else for some flaw, fault, or misdeed that they themselves are guilty of as well. You're judging me for wearing revealing clothing to a party? Wow, the pot's calling the kettle black! The senator accused the newspaper of misrepresenting the facts, many were quick to point out that the pot was calling the kettle black.
See also: black, calling, kettle, pot
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fine kettle of fish

Fig. a troublesome situation; a vexing problem. (Usually appears in the expression, This is a fine kettle of fish!) This is a fine kettle of fish. My husband is not here to meet me at the train station, and there's no phone here for me to call him. Alan: Oh, no! I've burned the roast. We don't have anything to serve our guests as a main dish. Jane: But they'll be here any minute! This is a fine kettle of fish.
See also: fine, fish, kettle, of

pot is calling the kettle black

 and that's the pot calling the kettle black
Prov. You should not criticize someone for a fault that you have too. (Not polite to say about the person you are addressing.) Bill told Barbara she was sloppy, but Bill never cleans up after himself, either. That's the pot calling the kettle black. My sister says I dress funny, but if you've seen some of the clothes she wears, you know it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
See also: black, calling, kettle, pot
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

kettle of fish

1. Also, a fine or pretty kettle of fish . An unpleasant or messy predicament, as in They haven't spoken in years, and they're assigned to adjoining seats-that's a fine kettle of fish . This term alludes to the Scottish riverside picnic called kettle of fish, where freshly caught salmon were boiled and eaten out of hand. [Early 1700s]
2. a different or another kettle of fish . A very different matter or issue, not necessarily a bad one. For example, They're paying for the meal? That's a different kettle of fish. [First half of 1900s]
See also: fish, kettle, of

pot calling the kettle black, the

Accusing someone of faults that one has oneself, as in Tom's criticizing Dexter for dubious line calls is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, since Tom's about the worst line judge I've ever seen . This expression dates from the days of open-hearth cooking, which blackens practically all the utensils used. [Early 1600s]
See also: calling, kettle, pot
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a different kettle of fish

or

another kettle of fish

BRITISH
COMMON You say that something is a different kettle of fish or another kettle of fish to emphasize that it is completely unlike another thing that you are mentioning. Artistic integrity? Who needs it? Money? Now that's a completely different kettle of fish. Howard was a sweetheart. But Clarisse was another kettle of fish.
See also: different, fish, kettle, of

a pretty kettle of fish

or

a fine kettle of fish

BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONED
If you describe a situation as a pretty kettle of fish or a fine kettle of fish, you mean that it is difficult or unpleasant. Well, this is a pretty kettle of fish, as Queen Mary said. Note: `Kettle' in these expressions may come from `kiddle'. Kiddles were baskets or nets which were laid in streams and rivers to catch fish. Alternatively, `kettle' may refer to a fish kettle, which is a long narrow saucepan that is used for cooking fish.
See also: fish, kettle, of, pretty

the pot calling the kettle black

If you talk about the pot calling the kettle black, you mean that a person who has accused someone of having a fault has the same fault themselves. His accusations must have sounded like the pot calling the kettle black. Note: People often vary this expression. For the government to speak of press lies is a pot and kettle situation. Note: In the past, both pots and kettles were hung over fires, and would be burned black.
See also: black, calling, kettle, pot
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a different kettle of fish

a completely different matter or type of person from the one previously mentioned. informal
1993 Empire Meryl is the finest actress of her generation but Arnold is, er, a different kettle of fish.
See also: different, fish, kettle, of

a pretty (or fine) kettle of fish

an awkward state of affairs. informal
In late 18th-century Scotland, a kettle of fish was a large saucepan of fish, typically freshly caught salmon, cooked at Scottish picnics, and the term was also applied to the picnic itself. By the mid 18th century, the novelist Henry Fielding was using the phrase to mean ‘a muddle’.
See also: fish, kettle, of, pretty

the pot calling the kettle black

someone making criticisms about someone else which could equally well apply to themselves.
1998 Times Yet as Guardian insiders point out, the pot can't call the kettle black. She can't cry foul when subjected to fair and standard competition.
See also: black, calling, kettle, pot
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a different kettle of ˈfish

(informal) a person or thing that is completely different from somebody/something else previously mentioned: You may be able to read French well, but speaking it fluently is a different kettle of fish entirely.
A kettle in this idiom is a pan in which you can cook a whole fish.
See also: different, fish, kettle, of

the ˌpot calling the kettle ˈblack

(saying, informal) used to say that you should not criticize somebody for a fault that you have yourself: ‘You haven’t done any work all morning.’ ‘Neither have you! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!’When cooking was done over a fire, the smoke made cooking pots turn black.
See also: black, calling, kettle, pot
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

kettle of fish, a fine/pretty

A messy predicament. This term is believed to come from a Scottish custom of holding a riverside picnic, itself called a “kettle of fish,” where freshly caught live salmon are thrown into a kettle boiling over an open fire and then are eaten out of hand, definitely a messy procedure. Sir Walter Scott described just such a picnic in St. Ronan’s Well (1824), but the transfer to other kinds of messy predicament had already occurred in the early eighteenth century. The term appears in Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews (1742) and works by Dickens, Hardy, Shaw, and many others, but it may now be dying out, at least in America.
See also: fine, kettle, of, pretty

pot calling the kettle black, the

Accusing a person of faults one has oneself. The term dates from times when most cooking was done over open hearths, where the smoke tended to blacken any kind of utensil being used. The earliest references to this saying in print date from the early seventeenth century. Among the blunter versions is John Clarke’s of 1639: “The pot calls the pan burnt-arse.” A modern and more straightforward equivalent is Look who’s talking, which William Safire believes is derived from the Yiddish kuk nor ver s’ret. In Britain, put as listen who’s talking, it dates from the second half of the twentieth century.
See also: calling, kettle, pot
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

pretty kettle of fish

Irritating or embarrassing situation. The Scottish tradition of community fish-boil dinners often degenerated in brawls, to the extent that people began to refer to the events by this sarcastic phrase. Fish-boils may have evaporated, but the expression and the sarcasm haven't.
See also: fish, kettle, of, pretty
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • a different kettle of fish
  • be a different kettle of fish
  • be another kettle of fish
  • another kettle of fish
  • be a whole other kettle of fish
  • another pair of shoes
  • another story
  • answer to the description (of)
  • answer to the description of
  • scope out
References in classic literature
Peerybingle, with restored good humour, dusted her chubby little hands against each other, and sat down before the kettle, laughing.
Now it was, you observe, that the kettle began to spend the evening.
The Cricket on the Hearth
Well, when the sap begins to get a free run, I hang over the kettles, and set up the bush.
He seized the enormous ladle, which was lying on one of his kettles, and began to stir the boiling liquid with great diligence.
Pioneers
but he sat still and shivered and looked anxiously at the kettle.
Again there was a period of silence a silence so long and gloomy that when Mombi finally lifted the kettle from the fire it was close to midnight.
The Marvelous Land of Oz
So Uncle Henry lifted the kettle from the fire and poured its contents into a big platter which the Wizard held for him.
The Emerald City of Oz
"Take them away," she commanded the guard, "and at six o'clock run them through the meat chopper and start the soup kettle boiling.
The Road to Oz
The charms of an old tin- kettle, however, were irresistible, and a bargain was concluded.
Astoria or Anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountain
'A devil, a kettle, a Grip, a Polly, a Protestant, no Popery!' cried the raven.
Barnaby Rudge A Tale Of The Riots Of Eighty
And the boiling water out of the kettle fell upon the tail of Mr.
Original Peter Rabbit Books
Those who now ruled "were angry with the tinker because he strove to mend souls as well as kettles and pans."* Before he was taken prisoner Bunyan was warned of his danger, and if he had "been minded to have played the coward" he might have escaped.
English Literature For Boys And Girls
To Katharine's agitated mind it appeared that this kettle was an enormous kettle, capable of deluging the house in its incessant showers of steam, the enraged representative of all those household duties which she had neglected.
Night and Day
She ran to her husband's side at once and helped him lift the four kettles from the fire.
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Our carpenter being prepared to grave the outside of the ship, as well as to pay the seams where he had caulked her to stop the leaks, had got two kettles just let down into the boat, one filled with boiling pitch, and the other with rosin, tallow, and oil, and such stuff as the shipwrights use for that work; and the man that attended the carpenter had a great iron ladle in his hand, with which he supplied the men that were at work with the hot stuff.
Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe